Safe and Sound
by bookwormbullet
Summary: Clary always thought she was a normal teenager, living a normal life in Brooklyn, New York. That is, until she met Jace Herondale.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi :) So this is my third fanfic so far. I am currently working on another called ****_Chameleon_**** (which I haven't abandoned or anything) from the Gallagher Girls series, and I got a sudden inspiration to write this story. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to continue this beyond the first chapter, but I sure do hope so!**

**Anyways, I've always loved TMI and I got this idea, with the story line for it. **If there are similar fanfics out there with similar plots—I'm sorry, I probably haven't read them yet.** But yeah, it's a Clace story and no one really from the TID world is in it (except maybe Magnus), and it's basically my take on the series. I hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instrument series, and all rights go to Cassie.**

* * *

**~Safe and Sound~**

**Chapter 1**

**Jace POV**

Jace was in the training room at the Institute, dueling with his _parabatai_, Alec. Their swords clashed furiously and after a couple seconds, Alec was pinned to the ground with Jace smirking mischievously above him.

"Well done," Alec grinned and Jace helped him get up. The door to the training room opened, and Isabelle, Alec's sister, walked in.

"Mom says that there's been a demon spotting in Brooklyn," she said. "She wants us to go check it out."

Alec and Jace nodded as Isabelle turned to leave. They followed her to the weapons room, and loaded themselves with Shadowhunter equipment. The boys were already in their Shadowhunter gear from training and Isabelle had just changed. They all took turns drawing _Mendelin _runes on each other, which would keep them hidden from mundanes under the glamour.

Maryse Lightwood, Alec and Isabelle's mother, stood by the front doors of the Institute and gave them a few words of the demon before the three teens went after it. "Be careful, all right? Call me if you need anything."

The trio left, walking through the cool autumn air of New York, towards the subway station.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Alec asked.

"The demon was spotted in Park Slope, Brooklyn, near a brownstone apartment building on Berkeley Place," Isabelle informed Alec and Jace. "I don't know if it was still there, but it was spotted by a woman out for a jog, a little before ten o'clock. She thought it was a missing dog, so she called the police, but they dismissed her report."

"And how did Mom come to know about it?" Alec pressed.

"Apparently Max was listening to the police scanner feed," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "And he informed Mom, who asked us to take care of it before it harmed anyone."

"Why would it be near Berkeley Place?" Jace thought out loud. "Do we know anyone that lives there?"

"Not off the top of my head, no," Isabelle replied. "We can look around when we reach the place."

* * *

**Clary POV**

Clary was sitting in her kitchen, talking to Simon on the phone while sketching absentmindedly in her sketchbook. Her mom was out shopping that Saturday morning, and Clary had nothing better to do.

"Hey Simon, do you wanna get some coffee?" she asked over the phone. "I've just been sitting here all day and I'm really bored."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be come over," Simon answered.

"Alright, bye," Clary hung up and put the phone down, continuing to draw. Recently a certain symbol had starting getting stuck in her head and she would have the sudden urge to draw it over and over again. It was a diamond with two bent lines coming out of the top point. She had no idea what it stood for, but she wanted to show Simon to see if he knew what it meant.

Just as promised, Simon knocked on Clary's apartment door and they set off together towards Java Jones, which was just around Clary's block. The coffee shop was their go-to place and the two spent a majority of their time there. Clary stood in line and Simon went to get a table for themselves.

As she sat back down at the table Simon had saved, two coffee cups in hand, Clary pulled out the drawings of the strange symbol from her bag.

"Okay, so I wanted to show you this," she spread out the papers on the table. Clary leaned back and studied Simon's face. "What do you think?"

"Wow..." Simon peered down at one of the drawings. "What is this?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Clary pressed her lips together. "I don't know why, but I just randomly started drawing this symbol, about 2 or 3 days ago. And I can't get it out of my head."

"What do you mean 'You can't get it out of your head'?" Simon looked up at Clary with a frown.

"I don't know. It keeps appearing in my thoughts," Clary shrugged.

"Is there some way you could find out what it means?"

"If there was, I would've figured it out by now," Clary sighed. "Do you have any clue about what it symbolizes?"

"I've never seen it before in my life," Simon shook his head. "Did you try searching it up online?"

"I did," Clary nodded. "I found nothing."

Simon exhaled. "Okay. Well, I don't think it's anything you need to worry about. It's probably just some intense artistic creativity that'll pass in a few days."

"Yeah," Clary said numbly, even though she felt otherwise. Clearing her throat, she started to pack her papers back in her bag. "Anyways, I—" She looked up and unintentionally gazed out the window behind Simon's back.

There were three people walking past—one girl and two boys—all dressed in black with swords and other weapons in their hands as well as being attached to their clothes. What was even more strange was that they all had tattoos covering their neck and arms.

One of the boys—a tall, muscular blond—glanced to his right and caught Clary's eye. Clary immediately blushed and looked down. She wasn't blushing because she had been caught staring, but more of the fact that she had been caught staring _by an attractive guy__._

"What?" Simon turned around and looked out the window. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...I, uh, was just looking at those weirdly dressed people," Clary nodded her head in their direction. "I don't know, maybe they're doing cosplay or something."

"What weirdly dressed people?" Simon frowned.

"Right there," Clary pointed. "They're wearing all black."

"There's no one there, Clary," Simon shrugged.

"Standing next to the crosswalk?" Clary said. "The group of kids our age?"

"I don't see anyone," Simon shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Clary gave a weak laugh. "They're right in front of you!"

"Where?" Simon gave up looking and turned back to Clary helplessly.

"You can't see them?" Cammie said in bewilderment. "Simon..."

"I don't know, Clary. I couldn't see anyone, sorry," Simon apologized. "So what were you saying?"

"Nothing," Clary shook her head. She was still a little confused as to what had just happened, but she shrugged it off.

* * *

**Alec POV**

After the demon had been taken care of, the three Shadowhunters walked around the area where it was spotted, trying to see if they could get any clues. Isabelle had used her Sensor and they had traced the demon back to the brownstone building on Berkeley Place, like she had mentioned.

"Should we ask the residents if they saw anything?" Alec asked.

"I think that's a good idea," Isabelle nodded. "Maybe they know what happened. You boys can go together." They entered the apartment building and Alec and Jace climbed the stairwell, leaving Isabelle on the first floor.

Jace knocked on the door, and after a couple of seconds, knocked again. Nobody came to answer it, and Alec turned to leave. "I guess nobody's home."

"Wait," Jace used his _stele_ to draw a rune on the doorknob. As the rune kicked in, the door swung open.

"What are you doing?" Alec hissed.

"Let's take a look around," Jace walked into the apartment.

"Jace!" Alec looked at him incredulously. Once Jace didn't budge, Alec sighed exasperatedly and followed him inside, careful to shut the door and lock it behind him. "You know, I'm fairly certain this is breaking and entering."

"It'll take just a few minutes," Jace murmured, looking around the living room. He walked up to a shelf, on which several frames sat. "Hang on a second," he picked up a frame and peered at it.

"This girl," Jace walked over to Alec and showed him the picture. "I saw her today—at that coffee shop we passed on our way to meet the _Ravener _demon."

"Java Jones?" Alec asked, taking the frame from the Jace. "I'm sure kids go there all the time; she's not of that much importance."

But Jace was already walking down the hall, probably searching for the girl's room. Alec rolled his eyes and continued staring at the picture. The girl had long curly red hair and striking green eyes. She was standing next to a woman—probably her mom—who had similar features.

"I think she's an artist," Jace called out. "She has a ton of—" He abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Alec looked up from the photo when Jace didn't finish. "Has a ton of what?"

"Alec?" Jace's serious tone surfaced and Alec hurriedly walked into the bedroom.

Jace was looking down at a piece of paper, with a concerned expression on his face. "Look at this," he held it out to him. Alec took the paper and his eyebrows furrowed once he saw what was on it.

"An _Angelic_ rune?" Alec looked at Jace with confusion. "Why is this in here? Who are these people?"

"I don't know," Jace shook his head. "But they certainly have ties—or at least an interest—to the Nephilim."

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock of the front door rang throughout the apartment.

"Get down!" Jace shoved Alec into a closet and dove underneath the bed.

A woman came humming along the hallway, pausing to toss her purse on the bed Jace was hiding under. As she stepped into the bathroom, Alec realized that she was the older woman standing next to the young girl in the photograph.

Alec and Jace crept out of their hiding places and walked back into the living room. Jace followed him, holding the photo of the girl and her mom, along with the paper with the _Angelic_ rune on it. They left the apartment and closed the door quietly. Isabelle was waiting for them outside the building, arms crossed.

"What took you guys so long?" she demanded.

"Sorry," Alec said sheepishly just as Jace said, "Long story."

"Okay, well, let's go back," Isabelle turned and was about to leave. "There was nobody in the aparment on the first floor."

"See?" Alec glared at Jace. "Unlike you, Isabelle actually follows the rules of refraining from invading people's privacy."

"Well, if we hadn't gone inside, we wouldn't have found out about that girl," Jace pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle asked.

"Like I said, long story," Jace said. "But we have to go to Java Jones."

"What for?"

"I'll explain everything on the way," Jace waved his hand in dismissal. "But we _need_ to go there."

Isabelle sighed, frustrated, and nodded. "Fine, let's go."

Alec smirked and followed his sister and Jace down the street, walking back the way they came.

* * *

**Jace POV**

When they reached Java Jones, the girl and her friend were nowhere to be seen. Jace walked up to the front counter to see if the cashier had any idea where they went.

"She has long curly red hair and green eyes," Jace supplied. "I think she was wearing a blue hoodie today."

"Oh, I know who you're talking about," the cashier nodded. "She left about ten minutes ago. I overheard a bit of their conversation, and I think they said they were going to catch a one o'clock show at the movies."

"A movie?" Jace raised his eyebrow. "Do you know which one?"

"Um, I think it was that new action flick with Brad Pitt," the cashier shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

"Okay, thank you," Jace nodded and walked out of the store, meeting up with Alec and Isabelle.

"Well?" Isabelle placed her hands on her hips.

"Apparently they went to the movies to see a show at one o'clock," Jace said. "There's still half an hour until one, so if we head over there now, we might be able to get there before them."

"And what exactly are you going to do once you meet them?" Alec retorted. "Will you sit them down for an interview or something?"

"Relax, I have a plan," Jace assured him.

"Well it better be a good one," Alec said. "According to my mom, we should have been back at the Institute now."

"Call her then. I don't know how long this movie's going to be."

"Who said we were going to be watching the movie?" Isabelle asked.

"I did," Jace said and started walking in the direction of the mall.

* * *

**Clary POV**

"Simon, hurry up! The movie's about to start!" Clary wove in and out of the crowd of the mall, making her way towards the movie theater.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the boy sighed and chased after her, fiddling with the tickets in his hand. He handed them off to the ticket collector and followed Clary to their designated theater.

As they ducked inside the dark room, Clary heard Simon breathe in relief. "Oh good, they're still showing trailers."

"But look at all this people," Clary squinted as she glanced around the theater. "There's literally no place to sit."

"What do you mean? There's so many empty seats in the first row," Simon started walking towards them. "Let's just sit there—"

"No!" Clary pulled him back towards her. "We've waited forever to see this movie, and we're not going to waste our money by sitting in the front row and not being able to see the screen properly without breaking our necks."

"Point taken," Simon pushed his glasses up his nose. "Do you see anywhere else to sit?"

"There," Clary pointed to the back row, where there were two empty spots were in the very center of the aisle. "Come on."

The two teens climbed the stairs and entered the row, apologizing every five seconds for stepping on people's feet. As they sat down on their seats, Simon turned to Clary and whispered, "I guess it's too late to say that I wanted to buy some popcorn."

Clary sighed. "Go, I'll save your seat."

"Thanks," Simon grinned and left, muttering apologies again as he inched trough the row.

Clary put her purse down on Simon's empty seat and felt someone jostle her elbow on her right. She turned to her neighbor, a boy with curly, golden blond hair and a strikingly handsome face.

"Sorry," he smiled sheepishly and readjusted himself.

"No problem," Clary smiled, but her gaze lingered on the boy. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She frowned and turned back to the screen.

"So, is your boyfriend a fan of Battlestar Galactica?" the boy leaned over and whispered in Clary's ear. "I saw his T-shirt."

"Hmm?" Clary looked back at him. "Oh…uh, he's not my boyfriend…" She blushed and averted her eyes from his sharp gold ones.

"Really?" the boy smirked. "Cause he seems to think the opposite."

Clary bit her lip and turned away, refraining herself from throwing a comeback. She and Simon had been best friends forever, and there was definitely nothing more than that between them. Sure Simon was good-looking—he had dark hair and eyes that fell just above his eyes and glasses that always slid down his nose—but Clary had never thought about him like...that. After all, Simon was an open geek—and always wearing graphic tees with slogans and mottos that only other nerds could seemingly understand.

"Hey," As if on cue, Simon popped up beside Clary. "The line was short; I got lucky."

"Cool," Clary smiled weakly and moved her purse from his seat.

"Here," Simon handed her a popcorn tub and placed his on his lap. "I know you didn't ask for any, but I got one for you anyways."

"Oh," Clary looked at the popcorn tub and then at him. "Thanks."

"Still disagree with me now?" The boy on Clary's right whispered with another smirk.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Clary turned to him with a stern face.

"I don't think so," the boy's eyebrows burrowed. He lifted his hand up to push his hair back. As he did so, Clary caught sight of a series of black tatoos on his bicep. Suddenly, realization hit her. He was part of the three people dressed in black walking in front of Java Jones.

"I saw you walking in front of Java Jones," Clary said softly.

"You did?" the boy gave her a look.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Jace." He extended his hand out.

"Clary," Clary reluctantly shook it.

"Clary," Jace repeated and glanced at the screen. "Oh, hey, the movie's starting."

"Right," Clary faced forward and turned to Simon when he tapped on her shoulder.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked.

"Oh, just...some guy," Clary smiled reassuringly and turned back to the front as the movie started.

* * *

**Jace POV**

Jace was quickly running through a list of names of Shadowhunter families that he knew. None of them had any daughters named Clary.

Alec, was sitting on his right, watching the whole conversation between Jace and Clary with a scowl on his face.

"What's so interesting about her?" He asked Jace once the two were finished talking.

"She saw me walking past Java Jones," Jace said quietly. "Even when I had my glamour on, she saw me."

"Are you sure?" Alec's eyes widened.

"What is it?" Isabelle asked from the other side of Alec.

"I'll tell you later," Jace whispered back.

"Do you think she's a Shadowhunter?" Alec asked. "Or maybe a warlock?"

"I don't know," Jace gave quick look back at Clary. "But I definitely would like to find out. After the movie's done, we can get more information out of her."

"You do that," Alec nodded.

Throughout the movie, he would turn to Clary and whisper jokes about the characters and she would just smile and laugh a little. But she still didn't reveal anything about herself, and Jace was beginning to get annoyed.

After the movie was over, and the audience was filing out of the theater, Jace caught up with Clary and her friend to properly introduce himself.

"Hey," he came around in front of them. Clary was fiddling with something in her purse and her friend immediately stood stiff once he spotted Jace.

"Oh, hi," Clary looked up from her purse and stopped mid-walk.

"Good movie, huh?" he said, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

"Who are you, exactly?" the guys standing next to Clary asked, frowning.

"Oh, Simon, this is Jace," Clary introduced him. "He was the guy sitting next to me inside the theater. Jace," she turned to him. "This is Simon, my best friend," she emphasized on the 'best friend' part and gave him a look.

"Huh..." Simon nodded slowly. "So uh, do you live in Brooklyn? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Uh, actually, no," Jace said. "I live in Manhattan."

Clary gave him a curious look. "Where do you go to school?"

"Oh, I'm home-schooled right now," Jace explained.

"Cool," she smiled. "We both go to St. Francis Xavier School."

"St. Francis..." Jace repeated, and mentally kept note of the name.

"Are you a junior, too?" Simon asked.

_What's a junior?!_ Jace racked his brain for an answer. "Yes?" It came out more of a question than an answer.

"So you're our age," Clary smiled. "That's nice."

"Yeah, well, we have to go," Simon pulled on Clary's sleeve. "Maybe we'll see you around, Jake."

"It's Jace," Jace corrected as Simon steered Clary away.

Clary smiled sheepishly before she left. "Bye, Jace." She turned and walked away, smiling over her shoulder.

"Well, did you get anything?" Alec and Isabelle came up beside Jace.

"Yeah," Jace watched Clary and Simon exchange words as they exited the movie theaters. "They go to St. Francis Xavier School."

"Never heard of it," Isabelle mused out loud. "Maybe Mom knows. Come on, we need to tell her everything that's happened today."

* * *

**A/N: So...how did that turn out? Love it? Hate it? In the middle? Please tell me what you think! Should I continue with this? Or if you have any ideas for the plot, that would be great!**

**I'll see if I can get the next chapter to be updated soon. I'm not the best at updating regularly, but I try :)**

**Once Clary finds out about the Shadow World, I'll introduce more characters and the actual conflict of the story will be revealed.**

**Also, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me or something.**

**Remember to REVIEW! I'll give you a shoutout, guaranteed. Thanks :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey look, I made it to the next chapter :) I appreciate the kind comments and follows/favorites that people hit. Thanks to Oregongirl1992, TheSilentWatchman, Frankie97, didnotthinkofthat, lianpe, Guest, WinchesterShadowHunter, Evil Angel1324, and theoldandthenew :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and certain concepts to this story.**

* * *

**Chapter ****2**

**Clary POV**

As Simon and Clary walked away from Jace from the movie theater, she turned to Simon excitedly. "You saw him, right?"

"What?" Simon asked. "Who?"

"_Jace_," Clary grinned. "Did you see him?"

"Yeah..." Simon gave Clary a weird look. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Simon, he's the guy that I saw at Java Jones," Clary explained.

"Him?" Simon looked over his shoulder. "Oh, I see what you were saying. About the dark clothes and the tattoos."

"Exactly," Clary joined Simon's gaze. "But I don't see his friends anywhere."

"Weird," Simon faced forward. "But I definitely didn't see him at Java Jones."

"I still don't get why," Clary wondered out loud.

"Just forget about it," Simon said. "That guy—Jason, or whatever his name was—seemed kinda strange anyways."

"Really?" Clary frowned. "I thought he was nice."_ And extremely handsome,_ she thought. _I mean that golden blond hair with those sparkling eyes... _"I should have gotten his number," she frowned.

"Why would you need his number?" Simon asked, a little edge in his voice.

"So I could keep in touch with him," Clary gave Simon a sidelong glance and saw the bitterness in his eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" She place her hand on his shoulder and slowed him down.

"Nothing," he shrugged off her hand and walked faster. "Come on, I have to meet with the band soon. And Eric wants to come up with a new name again, so I have to be there for that, too."

Clary bit her lip and hurried after him, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling she had.

* * *

**Jace POV**

"You're saying this girl has a drawing of the _Angelic_ rune?" Maryse asked.

"Yes," Jace said impatiently. "I'm telling you, she's related to the Shadow World in some way."

"If she was related, we would have known about her," Maryse pointed out.

"Yes, but..." Jace paused. "The thing is, I don't think she knows what the Shadow World is."

"What?" Isabelle crossed her arms. "Then why would she be drawing runes?"

"Because she saw them somewhere?" Jace suggested. "Like, on our bodies or—"

"What do you mean 'like on our bodies'?" Maryse interrupted, giving Jace with a stern look. "Were you walking around without glamour?"

"No, it wasn't like that," Jace shook his head frantically. Even though Jace himself seemed rough and tough on the outside, he had a slight fear for Maryse. The woman knew how to make someone easily feel guilty for causing trouble. Especially boys like Jace.

"We had our glamour on when we went after the demon," he explained. "But we took them off when we went to the movies with her and her friend—Simon."

"You went to the movies too?" Maryse stared at Jace. "What, are you guys going out bowling next?"

"I promise you, it was all in good favor," Jace reassured her.

"How about you tell her everything about the girl first?" Alec cut in. "From the beginning."

"Right," Jace turned back to Maryse. "So when the three of us went after the demon, we passed by a coffee shop called Java Jones. As we walked past, I took a glance and saw Clary and Simon sitting at a table there. At the moment, I had no idea who she was, so I forgot about her minutes later.

"After the demon had been sent back into the Downworld, we went into the brownstone building in Berkeley Place to ask the residents if they had seen anything unusual the past few days. Alec and I went inside one of the apartments to investigate, and we found out that that was the same place where Clary lived. Her aparment was where we found a few drawings of the angelic rune."

"So you broke into her apartment?! Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Maryse rubbed her temples.

"Just listen. Clary's a junior, whatever that means—"

"It means that she's in eleventh grade in school," Isabelle gave Jace a look. "So she's probably, what, seventeen years old?"

"Oh," Jace frowned. "Like I was saying, she lives with her mom in that building, but I didn't see any pictures of her dad, so I'm guessing a divorce or maybe he passed away. Her best friend is Simon and they both go to St. Francis Xavier School.

"When we found out that Clary lived there, I realized that I had seen her at Java Jones. So we went back and asked around, only to find that they had gone to the movies. Then we went to the movies, and before entering, I took off my glamour, but Alec and Isabelle left theirs on. Once the movie was over, I was able to talk with her and Simon for a little bit. And that was when Clary told me she saw me walking past Java Jones in the morning..." he looked at the Lightwoods, waiting for them to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"But you had your glamour on at the time," Isabelle realized out loud. "She was able to see us through our glamour."

"What?" Maryse leaned forward. "But that can only mean—"

"She's a Shadowhunter," Alec's eyes widened. He looked at Jace, who's lips were pressed in a tight line.

"Is that the only explanation?" Isabelle asked.

"It's the most obvious one," Maryse said, looking at her daughter, and then facing Jace again. "But you say that she doesn't know of the Shadow World?"

"No," Jace said. "If she did, she would have said something when we were at the movies. I was in full Shadowhunter gear and she didn't say anything."

"Interesting," Maryse nodded. "And what about her friend Simon?"

"He's a mundane," Jace said dismissively. "No doubt."

"Do you know Clary's last name? Or what she looks like?"

"Here, I have a picture," Jace reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the photo. "That's her, with her mother."

Maryse took the picture and her eyes suddenly widened. "By the Angel," she breathed.

"What is it?" Isabelle took a step forward, concerned.

"That's Jocelyn Fairchild," Maryse looked up and pushed her way past Jace, Alec, and Isabelle. "I've got to inform the Clave."

"Inform the Clave?" Alec echoed. "Is it really that serious?"

"You don't understand," Maryse said. "Jocelyn is Valentine Morgenstern's wife."

"Valentine?" Isabelle repeated. "As in _the_ Valentine that started the Uprising?"

"That would be him, yes," Maryse started to exit her office. "If Jocelyn has been communicating with Valentine, the Clave must take precautions, just in case he attacks again." She turned and hurried out of the room.

Jace shared a confused look with Alec. "I thought he was dead."

"I thought so, too," Alec frowned and ran after his mother, Isabelle and Jace following.

"What exactly is the Clave going to do with Clary and her mother?" Jace asked.

"Probably put her under protection in Alicante," Maryse answered. "That way, we will all be safe from Valentine."

"She's living a normal, mundane life here in New York and you're just going to come and take it from her?" Jace protested.

"Jace," Maryse stopped and turned to him. "At this point, the only thing I care about is protecting you three and Max."

"And what? You're going to hurt Clary in the process?" he retorted. "You don't need to contact the Clave. We can handle this in a much better way."

"And what way would that be?"

"I can get close to Clary; see if her mom has been communicating with Valentine. We can get her to trust us," Jace said. "If the worst happens, we can turn to the Clave."

"I agree with Jace," Isabelle piped up. "It's not fair to Clary if we suddenly barge into her life and lock her up in a place she's never been before."

"Well, I don't agree with Jace," Alec said. "She's Valentine's daughter. Just because we think she has nothing to do with the Shadow World doesn't mean that she actually has nothing to do with the Shadow World. She could have just been pretending to not know who we were at the movie theaters today...and besides," he looked at Jace, "what's so interesting about this girl anyways?"

"You just said it, she's Valentine's daughter," Jace replied hotly. "Everything about her is interesting."

"Well, then why are you pining after her?" Alec demanded. "If I were you, I would stay away from her. Valentine is just pure trouble—surely his daughter is the same."

"Why are you acting like this?" Jace frowned. "Ever since we've met Clary—"

"Whatever," Alec spun on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Jace and Isabelle gave each other a concerning look before Jace turned to Maryse. "So are you on board with us?" Jace asked Maryse.

She stared at the ground, thinking for a moment. "Alec has a point, you know. Valentine is a dangerous, dangerous man—"

"Maybe she's not even Valentine's daughter! She could easily be the daughter of a mundane that Jocelyn met. That would explain why she doesn't even know about the Shadow World."

"No, I'm fairly sure she isn't," Maryse shook her head. "The timing works out perfectly. You said she was seventeen, right? The Uprising was seventeen years ago. That means that Jocelyn was pregnant with Clary when the Uprising happened. And there's no way that Jocelyn was with another man during that time. Valentine wouldn't have allowed it."

"Wait, Jace said this earlier...isn't Valentine dead?" Isabelle frowned.

Maryse sighed. "You can never really know with Valentine Morgenstern. Even though his skeleton was found at the Fairchild Manor many years back, there's always a possibility that it was a fake." She crossed her arms. "And that's why I'm so reluctant about sending you three on this mission."

"We'll be careful," Isabelle promised. "If anything happens we'll call the mission off immediately and the Clave can get involved."

Maryse looked down at the ground for a moment, "All right, yes, I am," she replied. "But how exactly are we going to do this?"

"Well, I was thinking we could apply to St. Francis Xavier's," Jace suggested. "Alec, Isabelle, and I."

"Wow, you've got this all thought out, don't you?" Isabelle grinned. "Are you really that desperate to see your favorite little redhead again?"

Jace felt his cheeks grow warm and he shook his head. "We can get to know her at school, and then maybe get a glimpse of her life at home if we become her friends."

"It's a good idea," Isabelle pointed out.

Maryse sighed. "Okay, then." She looked at the two teens. "Ready for your first day of school?"

* * *

**Clary POV**

Back on Monday, Clary was just entering the school grounds when she heard a few squeals and giggles coming from her right. She turned to see a group of girls huddled together, talking excitedly with one another. Kaelie Whitewillow was the "Queen Bee" of the school. She was tall, slim, with pale blond hair and sharp blue eyes. Sure she had her moments, but overall Kaelie wasn't a _bad_ person. Just a little exhausting to be around.

"Clary!" Kaelie bounded over, and the rest of the girls followed her like a swarm. "Guess what?"

"Hey," Clary smiled weakly. "What's up?"

"There's a new guy here at school, and he is _so_ hot," Kaelie gushed. "He's tall and has gorgeous golden hair. He's in the office right now, checking in."

"Wait, golden hair?" Clary pushed past Kaelie and her clique and opened the door to the office. Sure enough, a tall boy dressed wearing black jeans and leather jacket was talking to the secretary while filing out paperwork.

"_Jace?_" Clary asked from the doorway, staring at him in disbelief.

The boy turned and gave her a smirk. "Clary."

"You know him?" Kaelie whispered from behind Clary.

"Uh, yes? No?" Clary smiled sheepishly. "We've met."

"We have," Jace nodded. He turned back to the secretary who handed him his schedule before facing Clary again. "Where's your not-boyfriend Simon?"

"He's...uh, not here yet," Clary said, flustered at what was going on. "I thought you were homeschooled?"

"Yeah, about that...I decided I had enough of being hoomeschooled," Jace said matter-of-factly.

"And when was this decision made?" Clary raised her eyebrows.

"The day before yesterday," Jace smirked again.

Clary just stared at him, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Okay..."

"So do you want to show me around?" Jace peeled himself off the counter of the office and walked out of the room.

Clary turned to follow him, but Kaelie pulled on her sleeve.

"Clary, what's going on?"

"You know, I'm not so sure myself," Clary replied, taking her arm out of Kaelie's grip and hurrying after Jace. Once she caught up with him, she put out a hand to stop him from walking any farther.

"Okay, you need to explain what's going on," she demanded, crossing her arms.

Jace sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm telling you, I decided to quit getting homeschooled, and go to an actual school where I meet actual people."

"Well, why this school? I mean, you live in _Manhattan_. That's like 45 minutes away!" Clary exclaimed.

"If you're worried about my morning commute, I'll let you know that I can get to school on time," Jace shrugged Clary's worry off. He looked up and smiled at someone behind Clary. "Ah, Alec! Isabelle!" he walked forward.

Clary sighed irritably and turned around, only to come face to face with two teens, standing next to Jace. One was a boy and the other a girl, and Clary immediately recongized the two.

"These are your friends," she looked back and forth between Jace and the boy and girl. "The ones who were with you at Java Jones."

"Actually, they're my brother and sister," Jace pointed out. "Guys, meet Clary."

Alec just gave her a tired look, but Isabelle extended her arm out. "Hi, I'm Isabelle. And this is our older brother, Alec."

"Hi," Clary shook her hand. By now, the situation was getting a little out of hand. "Were you guys also 'tired of being homeschooled' like Jace?"

"Something like that," Isabelle smiled lightly.

"Great..." Clary nodded slowly. "Anyways, I got to run; I have to go find Simon. It was nice meeting you, Alec and Isabelle."

"We'll come with you," Jace piped up. "After all, you never did finish—or start, actually—showing me around."

"Oh...yeah, sure," Clary smiled awkwardly and turned to lead the trio off to find Simon.

* * *

**Jace POV**

As Clary walked in front of the group, Isabelle leaned into Jace's ear. "Well this should be interesting."

"Oh, it's going to be much more than that," Jace said, staring at the back of Clary's head. "She's going to have the time of her life."

* * *

**A/N: Hopefully you guys liked that :) This chapter didn't really bring up anything new, but from now on, it's going to be Jace, Alec, and Isabelle's job to find as much about Clary as they can without her knowing their secret. If you have any questions plot-wise or character-wise, please ask! I'd love to answer them. **

**Speaking of which, I did introduce Kaelie as a new character. I know a lot of fanfics have her as the mean, popular girl, but I don't necessarily want to use that idea, much less copy it, so I made her be like the popular one but still the one who can potentially be there for Clary as a friend. So they're not enemies, but they're not BFFs either. And yes, Kaelie did find interest in Jace in this chapter, but once she realizes that Jace has eyes only for his red haired Shadowhunter (spoiler alert), she'll back off.**

**Anyways, yeah if you have questions, contact me in whatever way you want. **

**And now for some shoutouts:**

***Just a quick side note: I'm kinda disappointed that I only got 2 reviews on the previous update. I do realize that the last chapter was just the first, but the lack of reviews and thoughts still made me doubt writing this second chapter. I did get a lot of follows and favorites, but I would feel satisfied if there were more open comments. Please tell me what you think of this chapter and/or the story in general! You can say anything you want, as long as it's polite and kind. At this point I only know what the following 2 people feel of this fanfic :)***

**lianpe:** Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story :)

**Guest:** Hahaa, a lot of my readers get a little wary of my long chapters :) Thanks for all your nice words, and thanks for reviewing!

**All right, so that's just about it. Tell me if you think/don't think Jace's plan is going to work or if the Clave is going to have to be informed. Does Jocelyn actually have secret ties to Valentine? Will Valentine actually come back? And what about Simon and Alec? Will Simon get over Jace and will Alec get over Clary? Stay tuned to find out :)**

**Don't forget to leave a REVIEW, PM me, and hit the FOLLOW/FAVORITE button! See you on Chapter 3 :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, I'm back, finally. Sorry for the wait :( I wasn't really able to update beforehand since we had midterms and all that fun stuff. And then we moved houses on Friday so there was no WiFi in our new house for a while -_- ...**

**But thank you for being patient and thank you so so much for your comments; I really appreciate them. ****And shoutout to Liz399, someone, 2 Guests, didnotthinkofthat, FirePheonix77, Clace all the way, irish-gal-lauren, Thatlittlekid, AnnieBea, and Jacelovesme.**

**Okay, so today we're going to see Simon getting a little mad at Clary because of Jace, the Lightwoods (mostly Jace and Isabelle) will try fitting in Clary's school, and some secrets about the Shadow World will be unraveled to Clary along the way.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and certain terms in this story, all rights go to Cassie Clare.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Simon POV**

Today wasn't one of Simon's best days. Actually it all started on Saturday, with how Clary had been acting around Jace at the movie theaters. When Simon left the mall with Clary, he finally realized that if didn't make his move soon, Clary would end up falling for Jace—or anyone else for that matter.

In simpler terms, Simon sort of had a...crush on Clary. They had been friends for many years, but now that they were older, he had been feeling as if their friendship could be turned into something more. It took a while of convincing himself, but Simon finally felt that he was ready to reveal his feelings to her Monday morning, while he and Clary were walking to school.

That was the part that led to Simon's crappy day. He and Clary would usually walk together to school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Today was Monday, so Simon didn't usually see Clary in the mornings before homeroom. But since he wanted to tell her how he felt as soon as possible, he decided to stop by her apartment early in the morning to see if he could catch her before she left for school.

So there he was, standing at the steps of Clary's building with a look of disappointment on his face. When Simon knocked on the door of her apartment, Jocelyn answered and informed him that she had already dropped Clary off at school ten minutes ago. In turn, Simon called Clary numerous times, but she didn't pick up.

_Well that's great,_ he sighed in frustration and trudged along his way to school. As he climbed up the steps to enter the main building, he spotted Clary's red hair in the crowd of students in the hallway, and hurried over to her.

"Clary!" he called out, coming up from behind her and placing his hand on her shoulder to turn her towards him. She turned around and a nervous smile spread across her face.

"Oh, hey."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Um..." Clary stepped back and revealed three students standing behind her. It took a second for Simon to figure out who they were, but once he did, he wasn't very pleased.

"What the hell? What are _you_ guys doing here?" he demanded.

"They...they registered to come here to St. Xavier's," Clary explained.

"What?" Simon looked at the teens. "Even Jack, your egotistical, punk friend?"

"What are you talking about?" Clary frowned. "His name's _Jace_."

Simon tried to maintain his tough-guy look, but it didn't help that Jace just stared at him confidently and condescendingly.

"Whatever," Simon turned to leave. "And check your phone. I called you at least five times."

"Really?" Clary pulled out her phone and looked up at Simon apologetically. "Oh I'm so sorry, Simon. I didn't notice—"

"Yeah, yeah," Simon rolled his eyes. "You forgot about me because you were too busy flirting with your new boyfriend."

"What?" Clary's mouth opened. "Simon—"

"Don't Simon me," he spat, walking away.

"Hey! Wait!" Clary called out and came running after him. "What the hell, Simon? Why are you acting like this? They're just a random people Simon. You're my best friend, I would never forget about you."

"Exactly," Simon scoffed. "Best friend."

"What do you mean?"

"What did Jace even do to make you fall for him? I've done everything for you, Clary. _Everything_," Simon said. "I've stuck by your side my _entire life_, and this is what I get in return?"

Clary's expression was tentative—as if she was curious but didn't want to really find out the truth.

"I like you, Clary," Simon felt the heat in his cheeks. "A lot. And not just as friends." He slowly moved his eyes up and met Clary's. She looked surprised, and she opened her mouth, struggling to find something to say."And at one point I thought that maybe you could return that to me," he continued on. "But I'm not quite sure of that anymore."

"Oh my god," Clary whispered, her eyes shining with tears. "I'm so sorry, Simon...I had no idea..."

That was all Simon needed to know how Clary felt about him. He nodded, taking a step backward, giving Clary one last look before walking down the hall, trying to forget about what had just happened.

* * *

**Clary POV**

_Simon liked me? _

Clary was still shocked, and she felt terrible that she never saw it coming. Simon was a good friend, and he didn't deserve to be treated like this. _All these years, and he kept it inside the entire time. _She felt Jace come up behind her and she quickly wiped her eyes from showing off any signs that she had been crying.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

Clary turned around and smiled weakly. "Yeah, it's...everything's fine," she nodded, staring into the direction that Simon had left, half expecting him to come running back.

"It didn't look like it," Jace frowned.

"Well, it's none of your business," Clary waved her hands dismissively and moved forward, meeting up with Alec and Isabelle. "I should continue showing you around; we don't have much time; the bell rings in 5 minutes."

* * *

**Jace POV**

Jace gave Alec and Isabelle a look as Clary led them through the hallways of the school. He had heard everything in Clary and Simon's argument, of course, but it still felt right to ask. And he certainly wasn't upset about the outcome of their argument. With Simon out of the picture, it just pushed Jace closer to Clary, and he liked that. His schedule also contained a majority of his classes with Clary and Isabelle. Unfortunately, Simon was in a few of them, but there were ones with just Jace, Isabelle, and Clary. Alec, on the other hand, was a senior and therefore had another schedule entirely.

"Anyways, that's pretty much it..." Clary stuffed her hands in her back pockets of her jeans and looked at the three siblings. "Any questions?"

_Oh, she's done with the tour,_ Jace realized. Just then, the bell rang and immediately the hallway became filled with passing students.

"All right, then. You guys know where you're headed right?" Clary asked over the noise. "Actually Jace and Isabelle are coming with me...Alec—do you know where your homeroom is?"

"I'll figure it out," Alec said surly and pushed his way through the crowd.

"Okay, come with me," Clary beckoned to the remaining two Lightwoods and turned around, weaving her way through the throng of students. They ended up in front of a classroom and Jace and Isabelle followed Clary inside.

The day went on slowly, with Jace and Isabelle having to introduce themselves every single period. By now, it seemed like the entire school knew who they were. In the morning, during break, when he went down the hallway, Jace received a ton of whispers and stares from neighboring student—the girls looking at him like eye candy and the guys giving jealous glares.

Jace glanced down at his schedule to see where he was going next. _Gym_, it read.

"Is gym like a workout period?" Jace asked Clary, who was walking on his right.

"Something of the sort," Clary nodded and pushed the double doors open to a large room with bright lights, a high ceiling, and the sounds of sneakers hitting the linoleum ground.

"I tend to think of it as the worst class in the history of high school classes," Clary said. She pulled Isabelle towards her and pointed Jace to a hallway leading off to another room. "You have to go in there; that's the boy's lockeroom."

Jace frowned but went in the direction Clary had pointed. As he walked inside, a foul smelling scent engulfed him.

_What in the..._he raised his eyebrows and took in his surroundings. The room was filled with boys, all talking and changing into grey T-shirts and blue shorts. Jace spotted an administrator off to one side, and went up to him, asking for some gym clothes. When he got them, Jace quickly changed and then stuffed his belongings into one of the lockers.

"Whoa, dude," someone from behind Jace spoke up. Jace turned and came face-to-face with a boy with shaggy brown hair and a pimple filled forehead. "Those are some cool tats!" He pointed at Jace's arms.

_Tats?_ Jace looked down and his heart skipped a beat. _Shoot, the runes,_ he thought. _Now everyone's going to see them. _He grabbed his jacket and threw it on, covering up the so called "tats."

"Uh, thanks," Jace nodded to the boy and exited the boys locker room, searching for Isabelle in the gym.

"Isabelle!" He called out and went towards his sister and pulled her aside. "We have to do something about the runes."

"I realized," Isabelle smirked, wearing her T-shirt, which showed her bare arms. "That's why I used my _stele_ to draw a glamour rune to cover them up."

"Right," Jace pulled his _stele_ out of his boot and etched in a glamour rune into his arm before anyone else could see them.

"Will this even help?" Jace asked. "I mean, Clary can still see them—"

"Hey guys," Clary walked over to the two Shadowhunters. "Jace, how'd you find the boy's locker room to be?" She glanced down at Isabelle's arms. "Wow, those are some interesting tattoos. I noticed them on Saturday, but never bothered to ask. What do they represent?"

"Oh, just some random symbols," Isabelle smiled brightly as Jace quickly folded his arms behind his back. He changed the subject, "So what exactly are we going to do today?"

"Well, by the looks of it," Clary turned her head to survey the Gym. "Dodge ball."

* * *

**Isabelle POV**

By the end of the game, Isabelle was really starting to enjoy dodge ball. The coach had chosen boys against girls, much to the dismay of some students. But Isabelle didn't mind. She knew that she and Jace were easily the most athletic people in the room. To prove her point, by the time the first round was almost over, she and Jace were the only two people left on the court—everyone else had been hit out.

Isabelle faced Jace and gave him an evil smile. "Ready to go down?"

"You should be asking yourself that question," Jace smirked.

They both ran towards the center line at the same time and threw a ball at each other. Isabelle leaped to the side and somersaulted off of the floor to her feet. When she got up, she realized that her ball hadn't hit Jace either.

"Okay, I think that's enough," the coach walked into the middle of the court, collecting all the balls. "Let's just call this round a tie."

"What?!" Isabelle and Jace both cried out.

"Come on, let's start another round," the coach said and everyone started spilling back onto the court. Clary walked over to Isabelle and gave her a questioning look.

"How are you and your brother so good at this?" she asked.

"It comes naturally," Isabelle shrugged nonchalantly.

* * *

**Jace POV**

When the period was over, Jace walked back to the lockeroom, receiving looks of awe from all the other boys in the class. He changed back into his regular clothes, and noticed that the runes were starting to appear again. _The glamour must be wearing off,_ he thought.

After the bell had rung, signaling the end of the day, Jace met up with Isabelle and Alec outside the front gate. Alec—the only one with a license—had brought his car to take them back to the Institute.

"I totally won today's game," Jace said hoisting his jacket over his shoulders.

"Are you kidding me? I was the one who won," Isabelle retorted.

"Keep talking," Jace chuckled as he got into the passenger seat. As he strapped on his seat belt, he spotted Clary standing by herself a couple of feet away.

"Oh, there's Clary," Jace said. "Do you think she needs a ride?"

"Jace—" Alec began, but Jace was already gone, jogging over to her.

"Hey," he smiled as he came up next to her.

"Hi," she glanced up from her phone. "You were amazing at dodge ball today."

"I know," he smirked. "Do you need a ride?"

"Um," Clary gave him a sheepish look. "Would that be okay? I mean, I usually go home with Simon, but after this morning, I don't think he wants to see me right now."

"Of course," Jace nodded and led her over to Alec's car.

"Hey Clary," Isabelle greeted and patted the seat next to her in the back. Jace closed the door after Clary and got into his own seat.

"Thank you so much," Clary said sheepishly. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"No problem," Alec said sourly, earning a death glare from Jace.

"Where do you live?" Jace asked, feigning the fact that he didn't already know it. He looked up in the rear view mirror to see Clary's reflection.

"Oh, you can just drop me off at Berkeley Place; I can walk home from there," Clary said. She glanced over at Isabelle's hand and noticed the angelic rune sitting there.

"Wait a second," Clary peered closely at the inked rune. "You have that symbol!"

"What?" Isabelle looked down at her hand and her eyes grew wide. "Oh! Um, it's nothing—"

Jace turned around his seat and took in a sharp breath when he realized what Clary saw.

"What's going on?" Alec asked, trying to concentrate on the road.

Clary reached into her backpack, pulling out a paper with the angelic rune on it. "Do you know what this means?"

"Clary," Isabelle said hesitantly, and looked at Jace desperately.

"It's just a weird symbol," Jace explained. "We saw it on a poster and thought it looked cool."

"No, it's not," Clary shook her head. "Strange things have been happening to me the past few weeks, and they have to do with this symbol, and you guys." She looked back and forth from the three Shadowhunters.

"Why have I been drawing this?" Clary asked. "Does it have to do anything about me?"

"We can explain—" Jace started, but Clary interrupted him.

"So explain!" she gave him a look. "I have all day."

Jace looked at Alec. "Should we take her to the Institute?"

"No, we are not doing that," Alec said firmly. "Whoever is keeping this from her obviously didn't want her to find out about the Shadow World. I'd hate to see them get mad, and it'd be even worse if the Clave found out."

"What are you guys talking about?" Clary asked slowly. "What's the Institute...a—and the Shadow World, and—"

"Just hang on for a sec," Isabelle gave her a wary smile and turned to Alec. "Alec, we have no choice."

"Maryse will know what to do," Jace nodded. "We should just take Clary to her."

"Fine," Alec gritted his teeth and merged onto the highway, in the direction of the Institute.

* * *

**Clary POV**

Clary sat in the backseat of Alec's car, trying to process what had just happened. She had never been this confused. Well, of course there was Calculus, but this entire scenario was really something else.

"Where exactly are we going?" she asked, hand wrapped around her phone in her jacket pocket just in case.

"It's better if you don't ask any questions," Alec replied.

"We'll be there soon," Jace assured her. "Everything will be cleared up there."

Clary nodded, but she still wasn't fully convinced yet. After another half an hour, Alec pulled up into a driveway and stopped in front of a black entrance gate. Behind the gate stood a towering building, with a Victorian feel to it. By the looks of it, it was some type of a church with gleaming windows and beautiful architectural features.

"What is this place?" Clary asked in wonder, straining her neck to get a good view from the car window.

"Our home," Isabelle answered.

"You live here?" Clary couldn't take her eyes away from the building. Alec pulled the car right up in front of the doors and shut the engine off. Jace came to Clary's side and opened the car door. She hesitantly stepped out and walked up to the doorstep with the three siblings.

Instead of knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell or using a key to unlock the door like a normal person, Alec stared at the door for a good 15 seconds, murmuring something silently. The door made a series of sounds, like a series of locks being opened one after the other. With a loud groan, the two double doors opened, making way for the four teens.

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle walked in, but Clary remained outside, unsure as to whether she should follow the three siblings. Isabelle turned around and beckoned for Clary to follow her.

_Here goes,_ Clary thought. She stepped through the doorway, and a queer sensation crept through her entire body as she walked into the building. The Institute doors closed behind her and a series of locks went into place.

Clary faced forward again and saw her friends standing together, giving her a surprised look. Jace gave her a small smile and stepped forward.

"Welcome to the Institute."

* * *

**A/N: Sooooo, how was that? Tell me what you thought. **

**Oh and guys..._Dominic Sherwood is playing Jace in __The Mortal Instruments's TV series..._I need the pilot to premiere like right now!**

**Anyways, here are some shoutouts:**

**didnotthinkofthat: **Thank youuu soooo much :) Honestly this review means the world to me. I'd love for you to find out what will happen in the next few chapters, and hopefully you will have as much of a fun time reading as I will be writing :)

**Liz399: **Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**irish-gal-lauren: **Hahaa, thanks :) Eventually there will be Sizzy, but the transition will be gradual. Thanks for reviewing!

**Someone: **Thanks :) I hope you liked this one too ;)

**Guest: **Thank you!

**Guest: **Hahaa, thanks for the compliment :)

**Melissa (AnimeFan972): **XD Here's your update! Glad you liked the chapter; hope you like this one too! :)

**So next time Clary will learn about the Shadow World and Jace/Clary will get closer with one another. Thanks for reading guys, and don't forget to PM me, leave a REVIEW, or hit the FOLLOW/FAVORITE button! Bye :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay so I'm back with a new chapter :) I made it extra long for y'all! Today, Clary will be introduced (sort of) to the Shadow World, and an incident is going to occur at the very end! Read on to find out what happens!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instrument Series. **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Clary POV**

"Welcome to the Institute."

Clary stood in the middle of the foyer, giving Jace a confused look. "The Institute?"

Jace opened his mouth and was about to answer when a women appeared into the room. She was tall and looked strikingly like Isabelle, with the same long black hair and lean frame. However, her eyes were the same shade of blue as Alec's.

"Oh, you three are back. How was your first day—" the woman suddenly realized Clary was standing with the group and she stopped. "What is she doing here?"

"Mom, just let us explain," Isabelle took a step towards her mom. "She actually has no idea what the Shadow World is. I don't think she even knows about Valentine. Clary saw my angelic rune, and she recognized it from the drawings she'd been making."

"So you decide to bring her _here_?" Isabelle's mom gave a reprimanding look to her daughter.

"It was the best decision," Jace cut in. "I think she should just learn the truth."

"The truth?" Clary spoke up. "About what?"

Isabelle's mom stared at Clary for a minute before she sighed and walked forward, taking Clary's arm. "All right. She can stay. Come with me."

Clary followed, glancing at Jace, who gave her an encouraging smile as she passed by him. Isabelle's mom took her out of the foyer and led her to the base of a large grand staircase. Clary climbed up after Isabelle's mom, hurrying to catch up to her fast pace.

"So you're Isabelle's mom," Clary stated. The woman looked over her shoulder and gave Clary a cold smile.

"Yes, Alec and Isabelle are my son and daughter," she turned down a separate hallway. "My name is Maryse Lightwood. I'm the head of this Institute."

"How long have you stayed here?"

"A long time," Maryse answered. "I've been here since when Alec was 2 years old and I was carrying Isabelle."

She led Clary to a pair of large double doors and opened them. Inside was a vast room which looked like a library. There were rows and rows of books with window seatings and several marble statues located in different parts of the room.

"This is our library," Maryse said, walking to the center of the room. "I brought you here because all of the history of our people is located in this very room."

A hundred questions still swirled in Clary's head, but she refrained from asking them.

"Did Alec or Isabelle tell you exactly who we are?" Maryse inquired.

"Uh...no," Clary frowned slighlty. _What does she mean by 'who we are'?_

"Well," Maryse nodded. "My family—including Jace—are all part of a race of half angels and half humans, also known as the Nephilim. We call ourselves Shadowhunters as well, because we protect the mundane world from demons, and other Downworlders if need be."

"I'm sorry, what?" Clary asked in disbelief. "Did you say _half angel_?"

"Yes," Maryse looked serious.

"You're kidding."

"I'm actually not."

"You expect me to believe that you guys are a part some weird fantasy—"

"It's not a fantasy," Maryse interrupted. "It's real. Your family is a part of it as well."

"Okay, now you're going too far," Clary took a step back. "My family is the most normal family in the world. My mom and I have no relation to some witchy mumbo-jumbo."

"That's what your mother wanted you to believe," Maryse said. She turned and walked towards one of the bookshelves, pulling a dusty album off the shelf.

"What do you mean?"

"Look here," Maryse handed the album to Clary. She opened it and found several black and white pictures of a group of young people gathered together. They were all wearing similar clothing to what Jace, Isabelle, and Alec were wearing. Clary recognized Maryse in the picture, standing next to a tall and burly man with olive skin and dark blue eyes, almost black. And standing on his left, right there, smack-dab in the middle, was Clary's mother.

"What the..." Clary stared at the picture in shock. There was no mistaking it—the long, curly, red hair and the green eyes the replicated Clary's. "This can't be real."

"It is," Maryse said without any amusement. "Whether you like it or not. Your mother is a Shadowhunter, Clary. She is one of us. And by genetics," Clary looked up and met Maryse's eyes, "you are one, too."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, for starters, you were able to walk into the Institute," Maryse said. "Only people with Nephilim blood can pass through those gates, as well as open them."

Clary was at a loss for words. Me_, a Shadowhunter? _Clary Fray,_ the girl who goes to St. Xavier and doesn't talk to any of her classmates except Simon?_

"But, I don't understand...why would my mom be involved in all of this?"

"She was born a Shadowhunter, Clary," Maryse explained. "She was basically forced to grow up and train like anyone of us. But, after an incident, she chose to forget about this life and she started living a mundane one—here in Brooklyn."

"And she decided to keep all of this from me?" Clary was a little disappointed that her mother couldn't trust her with this information.

"It was for your protection, I believe," Maryse nodded. "After the incident that led your mother away from us, I think it was wise to keep you away from our world until you were ready to learn about her past."

"Why? What was the incident?" Clary pressed.

"That's not important," Maryse shook her head. "It's not my story to tell. Maybe one day your mother will explain it to you."

"After all this—what she's kept from me," Clary gestured to the library. "I doubt that's going to happen." She paused and looked around the room. Her eyes fell on a marble statue of a tall man, holding a sword and staring up at the sky.

"Who's that?" Clary inquired, pointing at the statue.

"That would be Jonathan Shadowhunter," Maryse walked up to the statue. "He was the first ever Shadowhunter to be created."

"What's his story?" Clary asked.

"Jonathan was a Crusader born in the 11th Century. During his time, demons were swarming the Earth from the Void. Jonathan was on his way to Constantinople when the asked the warlock Elphas to summon the angel Raziel at Lake Lyn—"

"Warlock?" Clary asked. "You mean like someone who performs witchcraft? Those people exist?"

"Yes," Maryse nodded and moved on without explaining further. "When Raziel arrived, Jonathan asked him to put his blood in a cup and mix it with man's blood to create a race of half angel, half human demon fighting warriors. Raziel sensed that Jonathan's reasons for having a demon free world were good, and granted his request. He gave Jonathan the Mortal Instruments, three divine items, including the Mortal Cup, the Mortal Sword, and the Mortal Mirror. Raziel gave them to the Nephilim not only for individual use, but also in case of an emergency. When used all together, the instruments would summon the Angel, but Raziel would only answer the Shadowhunters' call once. Thus, Jonathan created the Nephilim, and to this day, we Shadowhunters still carry out his intentions."

"Wow," Clary slowly took in what Maryse had just said. "That's quite the fairy tale."

"Once again, it isn't a fairy tale," Maryse shook her head. "These sort of things do exist. There are more supernatural creatures, objects, and witchcraft here on Earth than you could ever imagine."

"Supernatural creatures?" Clary echoed. "Like what?"

"Well for starters, there are warlocks, Shadowhunters, demons, werewolves, vampires, and faeries."

Clary stared at Maryse with a look of complete surprise. "Okay, now I actually can't believe this."

"You're going to have to," Maryse said. "These creatures have been a part of our world for centuries."

"But how can I believe you—or anything you've been saying for that matter?" Clary gave her a look.

"Maybe at one point, if you choose to become a Shadowhunter, you'll be able to see these creatures in person."

"I—" Clary bit her lip and looked down at her mother's photo. "I've never even heard of the Shadowhunter race until today—you can't possibly expect me to become one now—"

"No, of course not," Maryse cut in. "But if in the future—"

"I think I'll stick to my human life for now," Clary interrupted. "One where there aren't any magical creatures."

"I know it's a lot to take in. If you'd like to stay alone for a while to explore the library on your own, you can."

"Oh...okay, thanks," Clary gave Maryse a small nod.

"I'll send someone to check on you in a little bit." Maryse left the room, leaving the door open. Clary continued examining the picture, scrutinizing the people in it. Next to her mother stood another man, his arm wrapped around her waist. He was tall, muscular and had hair so blonde it looked white. His facial features were chiseled nearly to perfection, leaving his appearance very captivating.

Clary moved on, looking down the line of Shadowhunters. Right as she went past a couple more people she couldn't recognize, she spotted the distinct face of Luke.

_Luke's a Shadowhunter?! _Clary gaped at the picture. He was standing with a wide smile and his brown hair messy, just like it was kept now. His flannel shirt was unmistakable, and Clary couldn't help but wonder how many other secrets her mother had hid from her.

"Everything okay?" a voice called out from the entrance of the library. Clary looked up and saw Jace leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest.

"Um...yeah," Clary gave one last look at the album and then shut it closed. "Just trying to comprehend all of this."

"Yeah, it's a lot of information thrown at you all at once," Jace nodded. "I'm sure you still have questions."

"I do," Clary reopened the book and walked over to Jace. "Did you ever meet my mom?" She gestured to her picture and glanced up at Jace.

"No, actually," Jace shook his head. "I don't really know Maryse's friends."

"Maryse," Clary lifted her eyebrows. "She's not your mom, right?"

"No," Jace smiled. "But she took me in as one of her own. I've grown up with Alec and Isabelle as if they were my brother and sister."

"Where are your parents?" Clary asked before she could stop herself. "...Sorry...I shouldn't be asking—it's none of my business."

"No, no it's fine," Jace pressed his lips together tightly. "My parents passed away when I was really little."

"Oh—I'm so sorry," Clary felt terrible, and realized she had hit a nerve. Changing the subject, she referred back to the album again. "Would you happen to know who this man was?" She pointed at Luke's figure.

"Again, I don't really know these people," Jace said. "Why, do you know him as well?"

"He's actually a friend of my mom's," Clary bit her lip. "But I had no idea he was involved in all of this, too."

"I see," Jace nodded. "Well, what about that man, do you know him?" He pointed at the tall frame of the man with white blond hair with his arm around Clary's mother's waist.

"No," Clary stared at the picture. "I don't. Should I?" She looked back up at Jace. "Is he important to me?"

Jace mumbled something incoherent like "No," but at the same time, Alec's voice rang loud and clear through the library.

"He's your father."

"Alec," Jace said in a warning tone, turning to look at his friend.

"Father?" Clary frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Don't listen to what he's saying," Jace said quickly.

"No, if I have a dad that I don't know about, I'd like to know," Clary looked at Alec curiously. "Who is he?"

"He's a raging psychopath," Alec said. "He killed millions of Shadowhunters—including Jace's parents."

"What?" Clary looked at Jace then back down at the picture in horror. "I don't understand—how is he my dad?"

"Excuse me for a moment," Jace stalked towards Alec, shoving him out the door and disappearing from the library. Clary frowned at the sudden turn of events and looked back at the album. She took out all the pictures of her mom and Luke from the sleeves and stuffed it into her pocket. Then, placing the album carefully back on the shelf, she slipped out of the library. Alec and Jace were nowhere to be seen, so she walked down the hallway, going back the way she came. She descended down the stairs into the foyer. Once again, there was no one there.

Clary stared at the front doors of the Institute, trying to figure out how to open them. _It shouldn't be that hard,_ she thought.

"Clary! Wait!" She turned around and saw Jace running down the stairs and towards her. "Where are you going?"

"Look, I need to go home," she reasoned with him. "I think I've had enough of all of...this," she gestured to the Institute.

"Will you come back?" he asked gazing at her with his golden eyes.

"I don't know," Clary said truthfully, glancing down so she wouldn't get distracted. "I need to talk to my mom and get her side of the story. Why she ran away from the Shadowhunters, and all that."

"I see," Jace said. "And what if she doesn't allow you to come back?"

Clary lifted her chin up. "Something tells me I'm gonna be drawn back here eventually."

A hint of a smile tugged Jace's lips. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at school then." He pushed open the Institute doors, and Clary blinked at the fact that opening them up again was so easy.

"See you," Clary smiled and turned to leave. She walked out to the sidewalk and hailed a taxi. Giving one last glance at Jace, she got inside the taxi and drove away.

When she reached home, Clary found a note sitting on the dining table.

_Clary,_

_ Luke and I are out shopping downtown for some home decor. We'll be back in an hour. Dinner's in the microwave if you need it._

_Love, Mom_

Clary sighed and plopped down on the dining table, tired from the day's activities. She run her hands through her hair thinking about all the things that Maryse had told her.

_"Your mother is a Shadowhunter, Clary. She's one of us."_

Clary pulled out the pictures from the album out of her pocket. She stared at her mother's face, imagining the life she would have had if her mother hadn't chosen to run away from her past.

_"And by genetics, you are one, too."_

* * *

**Jocelyn POV**

The next day, Jocelyn was unpacking the new shipment of canvases that had arrived that morning. She had just taken out the last of the canvases when she heard a knock at the door. She frowned and wondered who it could be. Clary was at school, and Luke was out—so there wasn't a big chance for any of them to be knocking. Walking over, she opened the door and came across a face she thought she'd never have to see again.

"Hello, Jocelyn," Maryse Lightwood gave a grim smile from the other side of the doorway.

Jocelyn immediately swung the door shut, but Maryse stuck her foot out, stopping it from closing.

"We need to talk."

"It's been seventeen years, Maryse. What is there possibly to talk about?"

"Maybe because your daughter visited the Institute yesterday afternoon."

Jocelyn froze and her heart skipped a beat. "What are you talking about?"

Maryse smiled again and stepped into the Fray's apartment, taking in her surroundings. "Nice little place you have here."

"What was Clary doing at the Institute?" Jocelyn demanded.

"Didn't expect you to be able to afford a place like this, honestly," Maryse faced Jocelyn, still ignoring her.

"_What. Happened. Yesterday?_" Jocelyn said angrily.

Maryse smirked at Jocelyn, and pulled off her gloves from her hands. "Well, first of all, Clary had been drawing the angelic rune, because the silly little spell you had put on her was started to fade. She saw Isabelle's angelic rune on her arm—"

"How did she see the rune?"

"Oh, I sent my kids to St. Xavier's so they could keep an eye on Clary and you."

Jocelyn let out a soft exclamation, and her blood boiled. "No...stay away from my daughter. What could you possibly want with her?"

"Because we were taking precautions, Jocelyn! You should've seen the look on my face when I found out you where hiding here in New York with Valentine's daughter right under our noses. How would you think the Clave would act if you were secretly communicating with Valentine behind our back—"

"How dare you make that assumption about me? Valentine is gone, and you know it," Jocelyn fired back.

"Assumptions are all I can make at this point," Maryse crossed her arms. "I need to keep my children safe."

"Then you understand why I did this. I'm doing the same with Clary," Jocelyn pressed. "I promise you, I have not been in touch with Valentine since the Clave trials. I don't want Clary to be brought into all of this—"

Right at that moment, the door opened and Luke walked in, stopping short when he spotted Maryse.

"_Maryse_?! What are you—Jocelyn, what the hell's going on?"

"Lucian," Maryse gave him surprised look. "It's nice to see you doing well." She turned to Jocelyn. "I didn't know you two were still in touch."

"What is she doing here?" Luke looked back and forth between the two women.

"Clary found her way to the New York Institute," Jocelyn said tautly, giving Maryse a criticizing look.

"Was this your doing?" Luke turned to Maryse.

"Not directly," Maryse said. "But I think it's for the best."

"And why would it be?" Luke squared his shoulders.

"The Clave has reason to believe that Valentine may be trying to resurface back on Earth," Maryse responded.

"You're serious?" Jocelyn took a step forward. "How do you know this?"

"Well, did you know that there was a Ravener Demon in your apartment building a couple of days ago?"

"What?" Jocelyn's head whipped around the room as if the demon was still there. "Did you send it to the downworld?"

"Of course we did. The demon was no doubt sent by Valentine, and was probably searching for you and/or Clary. Which means you either a) have something of his, or b) he wants the both of you in person." Maryse said calmly. "Do you know which one it is?"

"I—I don't know," Jocelyn shook her head, looking frazzled. "There's nothing left for Valentine here—he should know that."

"I see," Maryse didn't look like she quite believed Jocelyn. "Nevertheless, it is safe to take the necessary steps to ensure everyone's safety. Which would mean that Clary would have to be sent to Alicante to be safe under the eyes of the Clave."

Jocelyn looked down at the floor and didn't say anything, but Luke stepped forward, "She's not going anywhere—"

"Oh, she is. And so are you two," Maryse continued. Jocelyn looked up sharply. "You, Lucian, and Clary are all going to have to go to the Clave and speak under the Mortal Sword."

"What?" Jocelyn frowned. "Why would we have to do that?"

"Do you not understand our situation?" Maryse gave a short laugh. "Valentine is rumored to be back, and the only person who knows him better than anyone is you, Jocelyn. You were his wife, if you've forgotten."

"I can't go back to Idris, Maryse. Please understand my reasons," Jocelyn pleaded. "I don't want to be a part of this anymore. I just want to be a regular mundane mother raising her mundane daughter."

"You should have realized the moment you escaped Idris that you could never run away from the Nephilim. Not if it was something as big as this, and especially not if it had to do with Valentine," Maryse said coldly. "I'll send for a Clave member to escort you in two days time." And with that, Maryse spun on her heel and left the apartment.

Jocelyn stared after her, mouth slightly open. She suddenly felt a rush of anxiety and stress build upon her, and she had to stumble to the living room to take a seat.

"Jocelyn," Luke hurried forward and helped her sit down. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," Jocelyn shook her head. "I can't believe that this is happening. I tried so hard to protect Clary from this, and now I see that all my work was for nothing." She looked up at Luke. "I should have realized that I couldn't have shielded Clary from the Shadow World."

"No, no," Luke rubbed her shoulders. "You did the right thing. You were so brave in trying to protect Clary and sacrificing your safety."

Jocelyn smiled and grasped Luke's hands. "I can't thank you enough, Luke. You've helped Clary and I through every step of the way, and I truly am grateful for that."

"No problem," Luke smiled back. Jocelyn placed her head on the crook of Luke's shoulder, closing her eyes, and praying for Clary's well-being.

* * *

**Maryse POV**

As Maryse was making her way back to the Institute in a taxi, she pulled out her cellphone, scrolling through her contacts. She stopped in the middle of the list, pressing on one of the names. The phone dialed the number, and she raised the phone to her ear.

_"Hello?"_

"Isabelle, dear, it's your mother."

_"Oh, hey Mom. What's up?"_

"I have a small favor to ask. Can you, Alec, and Jace make sure that nothing happens to Clary for the next two days? Just keep careful watch on her, you know? Don't let her go anywhere alone, make sure she stays away from anything that can harm her."

_"Okay, we'll try, but she doesn't exactly want to be with us right now,"_ Isabelle said. _"I think she may be trying to keep her distance from us after what happened yesterday."_

"Just do your best," Maryse replied. "I'll tell you more when you get home."

_"All right. Love you, Mom."_

"Love you too, Isabelle. And say hello to Alec and Jace for me."

_"Sure, bye."_

Maryse brought the phone back down and clicked the "End Call" button. She glanced out of the taxi window and realized that they had reached the Institute.

* * *

**Clary POV**

When the bell rang for the end of school, Clary hurriedly exited her classroom, before Jace, Alec, or Isabelle could talk to her. Clary was still a little puzzled over this whole scenario and she felt like before she could start hanging out with the three Shadowhunters, she should talk to her mom first.

Clary stepped out of the school grounds and started walking towards her house. She left the main road and started walking down a separate street. As she was strolling along, she heard a twig snap from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that the sidewalk was empty.

_Don't be paranoid,_ she chastised herself. Clary continued walking, but pulled out her phone just in case. After several minutes she heard another twig snap, followed by heavy footsteps.

Clary turned around again and spotted two burly men walking behind her, at least 10 feet away. One was gazing at her curiously and he quickly averted his eyes when Clary looked at him. She swallowed hard and turned forward, walking a little faster than before.

When it came time for her to cross the street, she did so, and to her alarm, the men also followed her. Clary started taking random turns on different streets, and every time, the men took the same route.

At this point, Clary was so freaked out about what was happening, she did the only thing she could do to protect herself. She started running. And the men immediately started chasing after her.

Clary headed for the main road again, cutting through the street and dodging cars. At one point, she crashed into a lady holding a bag of groceries and the bag dropped, spilling food all over the sidewalk. Clary muttered an apology and was about to get up when the men caught up to her. One of them grabbed Clary's hoodie and held her fast.

"Let me go!" Clary struggled against the man's grip. She started screaming, but none of the passing people even stopped to help her. Clary looked at them, bewildered. _Do they not see that I'm being kidnapped?_

Suddenly she realized what was going on. She looked at the man's arm that gripped her and saw a series of tattoos just like the ones that Jace, Alec, and Isabelle had. _They're Shadowhunters...and the humans can't see them. But I can. _

"Come on," the man holding her dragged her off to an alley leaving off to the side of the street. He shoved Clary to the ground and her head hit the cement hard. The pain was excruciating, and Clary wasn't able to get up on her feet. She scrambled away on all fours, backing up to the wall. One of the men came towards her, holding a stick with a bright, glowing end. He used the stick to sketch a symbol on Clary's arm. The sensation was a slight tingling feeling in her arm at first, and soon she felt nothing. She tried to wrench her arm away from the man's hold, but to her horror, she found that she couldn't even move it. She tried to move her other limbs, but discovered that they wouldn't budge as well.

"What did you do?" Clary exclaimed in short, panting breaths, panicking over her state.

The man didn't respond, but instead went back to his friend. They started talking among themselves quietly, giving casual glances at Clary from time to time. Clary carefully examined them—they both were buff and and had long, greasy hair.

Their tattoos, or runes, as Isabelle had called them, weren't black on their skin like the Lightwood's. Instead they were crimson red, like the color of blood. She looked down at the rune that they had drawn on her hand and saw that it was the same red color.

"Who are you?" Clary called out, cringing, as her head was pounding. "Why are you here?"

The men looked at her. "We were sent from Valentine," one of them responded. "He wanted to reunite your family."

_Valentine..._Clary thought, remembering what Alec had said. "My dad?" she replied, frowning.

"Of course," the man said. "With you, Jocelyn, and the three Mortal Instruments all together, he'll be the most powerful Shadowhunter ever." The man turned back to his friend, and Clary listened to bits of their conversation. _"Open up a Portal...that'll take some time...Valentine's waiting for us...the Clave will never find out..."_

Clary didn't understand what the men were saying, and as she mulled over their words, she heard a shout. Craning her neck, Clary saw Jace, Isabelle, and Alec sprinting towards her.

The men turned and spotted the three Shadowhunters, charging towards them while pulling out weapons. Isabelle and Alec started fighting with the two men, while Jace hurried over to Clary.

"Clary," Jace rushed to her, kneeling down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Clary mumbled, wincing as another wave of pain hit her head, mentally thinking how grateful she was that Jace had arrived.

"Did they...you know..._do_ anything to you?" Jace asked, giving a meaningful look.

"What? Oh my god, no! No!" Clary shook her head frantically. "I'm all right, just get me out of here."

"Okay, just stand up and start running towards the other end of the alley; I'll cover for you," Jace got up, holding his hand out to Clary.

"I can't—I can't move..." Clary said helplessly.

"What do you mean?" Jace got back down and spotted the rune sitting on Clary's arm. He swore and then lifted her up into his arms. "I think they put some kind of rune on you to prevent you from moving. It's not in the Gray Book, though...definitely not a Shadowhunter one..."

"Jace! Get Clary out of here!" Isabelle yelled, clearing a path for him and Clary.

"Whatever, we'll deal with the rune later; hang on," Jace stood and hoisted her up into his arms, running towards the other end of the alley. Clary watched over Jace's shoulder as Alec and Isabelle fought furiously with the two men.

Eventually, Jace slowed to a walk. Clary looked around and realized that they weren't too far from the Institute. She looked back up at Jace's perfectly crafted face. What was most enchanting about him was probably his golden eyes.

"Thank you," Clary breathed, her eyes feeling heavy.

"My pleasure," Jace smirked, but his voice seemed a million miles away.

Clary opened her mouth to speak again when suddenly a hot searing pain emitted from the rune on her arm. She screamed in pain and it seemed as if the feeling was taking over her entire body. Very distantly, she heard Jace saying her name repeatedly, but she couldn't concentrate on what his words. After a while, Clary succumbed to the pain and her vision began to swim before her. The last thing she remembered was Jace's sparkling eyes staring down at her before her vision became black.

* * *

**A/N: Ooohh, a cliffy :p Hahaa, hope you guys enjoyed that, and I hope you enjoyed the long chapter. Thanks for being patient with my updating, here are some shoutouts:**

**imagenationgirl: **Aww, thank you! That means a lot :) Thanks for reviewing!

**bookgirl18: **Thanks! I can't wait for you to find out what happens next :)

**Allycat2002: **Hopefully you liked this chapter :)

**Megan5202:** Thank you! I hope this chapter was good :)

**Okay then, guys, that's all I have for you. Oh, but before I leave, have you guys seen the behind-the-scenes photos of Shadowhunters?! It looks soooo cool and I honestly cannot wait for this TV series to premiere :)**

**Remember to REVIEW please! And hit the FOLLOW/FAVORITE while you're at it :) ****Thanks for everything, and I'll see you next time on Chapter 5!**

**~bookwormbullet**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm back! Today, you're going to be reading Chapter 5, where Clary and Jocelyn will decide whether they want to come to the Shadow World or not. There's going to be some Clace (with a sweet moment at the end) too! The Silent Brothers will be introduced along with everyone's favorite character *cough* think glitter *cough* Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot, nothing else.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Clary POV**

Clary's consciousness faded in and out throughout her mind. She'd wake up to hear worried voices or an argument going on for a quick second and then fall into a void of black. All while this was happening, she saw Jace's face in the back of her mind—urging her to wake up.

Finally, her eyes opened and Clary felt a sudden panic when she couldn't recognize her surroundings. She was staring up a soft light hanging above her while in a room with a row of beds lining the walls, sort of like a hospital. She realized that the rune Valentine's men placed on her had worn off when she was able to turn her head slowly. Grimacing at the stiffness of her neck, Clary looked to her left and saw Jace sprawled in a chair, eyes closed.

"Jace?" she called out. The boy's eyes fluttered open and he peered at Clary before leaping to his feet.

"Clary," He went over to the side of her bed and pressed a hand on her forehead. "How are you feeling? Oh good, your fever broke."

"Fever?" Clary frowned and looked up at him with concern. "What happened?"

"You were injected with demon blood," someone walked into the room, dressed in a long black cloak. He had short, cropped hair, and glinting eyes similar to those of a cat's. "You've been out for almost 2 days."

Clary glanced at Jace with a questioning look. _Who is he?_

"Clary, this is Magnus Bane. He's a warlock...from Brooklyn," Jace explained. "He's been helping you get better."

"O—Oh," Clary said in surprise, glancing at Magnus curiously. "A warlock...that's...nice," she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um, what exactly do I need to get better from?"

"The demon blood that was marked on your arm was slowly making its way through your skin," the warlock—Magnus—said. "The Silent Brothers were able to extract most of it before it penetrated its way down to your bloodstream."

"Most of it?" Clary echoed, looking down at her arm. The area where she was marked with the rune was now a mixture of blue, black, and purple. There were little dark red lines leading away from the mark going up to her shoulder and down to her wrist. She couldn't help but stare at horror at its state. Her entire arm was numb; when she curled her fingers into a fist, she felt nothing.

"The Silent Brothers might be powerful, but even they have their limits," Magnus said solemnly. "Warlock magic is much more ancient, and I was called to take away the rest."

"What are you talking about?" Clary stumbled with the new words. _Silent Brothers._ "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," Jace said hurriedly. "Just sit tight, I'll call Maryse." He left the room, leaving Magnus with Clary.

"So," Magnus said, dropping down in the chair that Jace was previously sitting in. "You're the newbie."

Clary gave a weary look at Magnus before sighing. "Yeah, I am."

"What do you think of all of this?" Magnus asked, spreading his arms wide. "The Shadowhunters, the demons, your mother keeping a valuable secret from you, and the fact that Valentine's your father."

Clary gave Magnus a strange look. "How do you know about all that?"

"Well, I may have been the warlock that placed the spell on you, with the request of your mother, of course, to take away your memories of the Shadow World," Magnus informed Clary.

"Oh, that was you," Clary bit her lip and averted Magnus's chilling gaze. "Honestly, I don't know about this whole situation," she confessed. "I don't know whether I should trust my mother's judgement or my own."

"What does your judgement say?" Magnus stared into Clary's eyes.

"I—" Clary was about to answer when Jace entered, followed by Maryse and Isabelle.

"Clary!" Isabelle came over to her side and smiled down at her. "How are you doing?"

"Good, I guess," Clary replied. "My arm...not so much."

"Magnus, once the Silent Brothers come to supervise your healing process, you can begin," Maryse said.

"Who are the Silent Brothers?" Clary asked.

"They are also Shadowhunters, only instead of fighting among the rest of us, they act as medics and archivists," Maryse replied. "You might be a little frightened of them at first, but I assure you, they all have good intentions."

_Frightened? Why would I be frightened of them?_ Clary thought but didn't ask the question out loud.

Maryse turned to Magnus. "Magnus, would you like something to drink while they come? I can go get something for you."

"No worries, I'll help myself," Magnus smiled and stood up, sauntering out of the room.

Maryse stepped back as Magnus left. She gave a rushed glance at Jace, Isabelle, and Clary before exiting the room. "I'm going to go check on Max—see if he's doing okay."

"Max?" Clary asked the two remaining Lightwoods.

"He's our younger brother," Isabelle smiled. "He's also training to become a Shadowhunter."

"Oh, cool," Clary nodded. "Um, do you guys have my phone? I should call my mom and let her know I'm okay. She must be worried sick."

"You don't have to," Jace said. "She's already here, in the Institute."

"She is?" Clary gave a surprised look to the two teens.

"We called her as soon as you got hurt," Isabelle said. "And she came right away. She's been staying here the entire time you were unconscious."

"Can you tell her that I want to see her?" Clary requested.

"Sure," Isabelle gave Clary's hand a tight squeeze and left the room.

Jace sighed and leaned against Clary's bed frame. "I'm really sorry all this happened. We never meant for you to get hurt."

"It's fine," Clary said, looking down at her arm. "How did you know where to find me that day anyways?"

"Well," Jace explained. "Maryse told us to keep an eye on you—to make sure you were safe. Alec, Izzy, and I were following you from school, but then we lost you when Valentine's men came. Fortunately, we were able to find you again in that alley."

"Thanks," Clary gave him a grateful smile and winced as her arm throbbed. The pain on her head had faded, and she could feel a bandaged wrapped around her temple.

"All part of the job," Jace said, frowning as Clary grimaced. "Hopefully the Silent Brothers will be here soon."

* * *

**Magnus POV**

As Magnus was wandering the halls, trying to find the kitchen so he could get something to drink, he stumbled upon a young man leaning against a window frame, looking out into the courtyard below. Magnus had seen him before—he was one of Maryse's children.

"What's so interesting out there?" Magnus asked, walking towards him.

The young man turned and gave Magnus a surprised look. "Uh, nothing...I, um, was just thinking, that's all."

"I see," Magnus smiled. "You're Maryse's son, right? I'm Magnus Bane." He extended his hand out and the boy looked at it warily.

"I know_—_I mean," the boy blushed and shook his hand. "I'm Alec Lightwood."

"Alec...nice to meet you," Magnus nodded. "I was trying to find the kitchen, but I can't seem to remember where it is...would you mind taking me there?"

"Oh...uh, yeah," Alec ducked his head down and led Magnus into a hallway off to the right.

* * *

**Clary POV**

As Clary was talking with Jace, someone knocked on the door and entered the infirmary. Clary craned her neck and spotted Jocelyn standing at the door, wringing her hands anxiously.

"Mom," she said, sitting up straight.

"Um, I'm going to leave you two alone for a bit," Jace said, taking his cue to leave the room. Clary watched silently as Jace left and Jocelyn came forward, taking the chair that Jace was previously sitting in.

"How are you feeling?" Jocelyn asked, surveying the mark on Clary's arm.

"I'm okay," Clary said quietly. "I'm sorry...about everything. I should have talked to you about all this the first chance I got—"

"Hey, it's okay," Jocelyn squeezed Clary's hands. "You were confused and overwhelmed—I get it. But I'm ready to talk about it now, if you'd like."

Clary nodded, asking the biggest question that was on her mind. "Why didn't you tell me about the Shadow World?"

Jocelyn sighed. "I didn't want you to make the same mistakes I did when I was a Shadowhunter, and face the same danger that I had to go through."

"You're talking about Valentine," Clary said.

"So you know who he is," Jocelyn shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Yeah, I've heard from numerous people that he's my dad, none of which were you," Clary gave her a reprimanding look.

"I'm sorry," Jocelyn bowed her head. "But the stories that come with Valentine aren't the nicest."

"That's not an excuse. I mean, the whole Shadowhunter thing? I get it. I understand why you didn't tell me. But this is something else entirely. My whole life, I grew up thinking that my dad was dead. And now I found out that he's very much alive," Clary said sternly.

"I know, I know," Jocelyn held her hands up. "But you also need to understand that Valentine is a very dangerous man."

"What's so bad about him?" Clary asked. "Everyone here talks about him as if he's Voldemort or something."

"He may as well be," Jocelyn sighed. "I met your father at the Shadowhunter Academy, where I was training to become a Shadowhunter. He was a year older than Luke and I—" she stopped suddenly and looked at Clary.

"Yeah, Luke's a Shadowhunter, I know that already," Clary gave a wry laugh and motioned her mom to continue.

"Uh...no, he's not," Jocelyn said softly. "He was a Shadowhunter, yes, but that was all in the past."

"Oh...so is he a human now?" Clary raised her eyebrows.

"Not quite...he's actually...he's a werewolf," Jocelyn looked up at Clary.

"A werewolf?" Clary repeated, giving her mother a strange look. "You're not messing with me?"

"I'm not," Jocelyn said.

"I don't know which one's crazier," Clary though aloud.

"Clary, Luke stayed with me all throughout the time I was raising you," Jocelyn pressed. "He's a good man, better than Valentine ever could be." She gave a faint smile and continued on.

"Anyway, I was around 16 years old when Valentine's father died. We started getting closer and that's when I realized that I had feelings for him. We got married after our training was over. We were happy together, both of us so in love," Jocelyn continued.

"When we were in school, Valentine had formed this group, called the Circle of Raziel. Its objective was to set out to "purify" the world for humans. We rebelled against the authorities of the Clave in many situations, and this got us into trouble at times. But we all strongly believed in the Circle's intentions, and that kept the bond between Valentine and I stronger. When Valentine's father was killed by a werewolf, however, Valentine's and the Circle's ideals changed. He instead started to plot the destruction of Downworlders instead of revolutionizing the Clave."

"Who are the Downworlders?" Clary asked.

"That's the group of non Shadowhunters," Jocelyn explained. "Werewolves, vampires, warlocks—all Downworlders. Anyways, eventually, I grew more skeptical and scared of the direction Valentine was taking the Circle. When Luke was turned into a werewolf, he came to our house the morning after he first Changed. I wanted to go comfort him, but Valentine took him to the woods instead. When he returned, he claimed that Luke had killed himself.

"I was so stricken in grief—I fell into depression and felt isolated from my friends. Sometime later, I was sent a message, telling me that Luke was still alive and had become the leader of a pack of werewolves. I went out to find him, and when I did, I realized that Valentine had lied to me and I began to truly hate him."

"That's it?" Clary said. "That's the reason why nobody likes him?"

"No," Jocelyn said slowly, looking more nervous than ever. "There's a lot I have to tell you when it comes to Valentine."

"Like what?" Clary frowned.

"Before Valentine disappeared, I was pregnant," Jocelyn looked up at Clary. "And not with you."

"Wha—" Clary processed what her mom just said. "You mean...I have a sibling?"

"A brother," Jocelyn said quietly. "An older brother...and his name was Johnathan."

"Was?...Wait, he's..._dead_?" Clary's face was covered with shock. "I can't believe this...How could you have not told me?"

"You don't understand, Clary. What Valentine did with Johnathan is unspeakable. Your father is the one that killed him," Jocelyn said, eyes brimming with tears.

"W_—_what happened?" Clary asked softly.

"While I was still carrying Johnathan, Valentine would feed me demon blood, without me knowing, to make Johnathan the strongest Nephilim warrior to be alive. Because of it, Johnathan was born with features that screamed anything but human, and I tried so hard not to be repulsed by the sight of him," Jocelyn sighed and placed her head in her hands.

"And then I became pregnant with you, but I didn't tell Valentine about it, otherwise he would have harmed you, too. The day of the Uprising came, where the Clave and Downworlders were going to sign the Accords, a peace treaty between the Nephilim and the Downworlders. The Circle, led by Valentine, chose to protest against this, and the demonstration turned into bloodshed quickly.

"Valentine had planned to kill every single Downworlder and Shadowhunter against him. Luckily, Luke and I gave a heads up to the Downworlders, and the fighting was limited. I had wanted to kill Valentine during the fight, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He was still my husband, after all. I fled with Luke to the Fairchild manor_—_"

"Fairchild manor?" Clary asked.

"That's the house that my family lived in," Jocelyn answered. "When I came to the manor, I saw that it was in flames, and I found the skeletons of my parents and what everyone assumed were Valentine and Jonathan's skeletons."

"So Valentine's dead," Clary pointed out.

"No," Jocelyn shook her head. "I know Valentine more than anyone else; he'd never give up so easily. He's still alive, and your incident with his men proved that."

Clary nodded looking down at her hands. "I have another question. Earlier, I heard Alec talking and he said that Valentine killed Jace's parents. Is that true?"

"In a way, yes. I'd see how Alec said that," Jocelyn answered. "Stephen Herondale, Jace's father, was killed in one of the Circle's raids on a vampire's nest, an incident many people suspected to be deliberately set by Valentine himself. When the news of Stephen's death reached Jace's mother, Céline, she committed suicide." Jocelyn sighed and lifted her eyes to meet Clary's. "Valentine cause a lot of pain and greif for many people, Clary. I did everything I could to get myself away from him."

"I realize that now. And I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

Jocelyn gave a weak smile to Clary. "The main reason I didn't tell you about the Shadow World was because I didn't want your life to be at risk of Valentine's actions."

"You did a good job of protecting me," Clary said. "But I think the best thing for me now is to learn how to defend myself in case Valentine comes after us. With the help of the Lightwoods."

Jocelyn paused a bit and then spoke, "All right, but you must promise me that you'll never put yourself in danger."

"Of course," Clary nodded earnestly. "I promise."

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Maryse and Magnus entered the room, followed by a tall figure dressed in a robe. The hood of the robe covered their face, preventing Clary from seeing it.

"Jocelyn, Clary," Maryse nodded curtly to the Frays. "This is Brother Enoch, and he's going to take a look at you, Clary."

_Right, the Silent Brother,_ Clary remembered.

"_Hello, Clary,_" Brother Enoch spoke. Clary flinched when he started speaking—it seemed like she was in a movie theater with surround sound, and the only audio playing was Brother Enoch's booming voice.

"Hi," she said in a small voice. Brother Enoch raised his hands up and lifted his hood away from his face. Clary stared at his appearance in bewilderment. Brother Enoch was bald and his face mutilated. His eyes were gone; the empty sockets in its place instead. His mouth was stitched shut, sort of like Frankenstein. He had marks and scars, as well as runes, covering his neck and Clary suddenly realized what Maryse meant about being frightened.

Brother Enoch ignored Clary's stares and turned to Magnus, who came forward to Clary's side.

_"Healing this will take several hours,"_ Brother Enoch explained. _"It will feel painful, but the warlock will put you in an induced sleep so you won't feel most of the pain."_

"O—okay," Clary stammered, still feeling a bit rattled from the Silent Brother's appearance. She glanced at her mom, but Jocelyn only returned a curious look.

"What is it, Brother Enoch?" she asked, leaning forward.

"You didn't hear what he said?" Clary said, looking back and forth between Brother Enoch and her mom.

_"Your mother cannot hear what I am saying,"_ Brother Enoch explained. _"I am speaking to you through your mind."_

"Oh..." Clary said simply. _This is getting weirder by the minute. _She watched as Brother Enoch turned to Jocelyn and silently communicated with her, too.

Then Magnus turned back to Clary and said dauntingly, _"Shall we begin?"_

* * *

**Magnus POV**

Before Magnus went back to the infirmary to start healing Clary, he was sitting in the kitchen with Alec, telling him about his trip he took to Bali, when a tall blonde haired boy—a little younger than Alec entered the room.

"Oh," the boy stopped short once he saw Alec and Magnus talking together. "Magnus...what are you still doing here?"

"I was just telling Alec over here about my experience in Bali. It's an amazing place, you know," Magnus said a matter-of-factly. "If you'd like to join us...er..."

"Oh, I'm Jace," the boy introduced himself. "I'm Alec's _parabatai_, and—"

"Stephen Herondale's son," Magnus interrupted, nodding. "I though I recognized that face. Except for the eyes—your father's were deep, dark blue. He was a good man."

"You knew my father?" Jace frowned.

"Fairly well, I might add," Magnus replied. "From what I knew of him, he was a very aspiring Shadowhunter."

Jace nodded solemnly and came over to the fridge, pulling out a can of soda. "Well, um, I'm going to go check on Clary. You two have fun...talking...I guess."

Magnus smirked and glanced over at Alec, who was looking at Jace with an interesting expression. As Jace nodded at the two and left the kitchen, Alec broke his wistful stare and turned back to the warlock and noticed the look Magnus was giving him.

"What is it?"

Clearing his throat, Magnus spoke, "I saw the way you were looking at him."

Alec lowered his eyes to the floor and coughed nervously.

"Does he know?"

"Know what?"

"That you're—"

Alec made a bitter laugh. "That I'm gay? Probably." He pushed himself off of the kitchen counter and started to leave the kitchen.

"Alec, wait—" Magnus said and went after him.

"Look, I know what the Clave thinks of Shadowhunters like me—"

"Who cares what the Clave thinks?" Magnus cut in. "You know that Jace is your _parabatai_. As far as I know about Shadowhunters, it's forbidden to fall in love with your lifelong partner."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," Alec gave Magnus an angry look. "Why do you care anyway? You're the high warlock of Brooklyn; you don't usually waste your time on us Nephilim."

Magnus sighed to himself as Alec turned and left the kitchen. Minutes later, Maryse entered, and told Magnus that Brother Enoch was here and ready for Magnus to begin his work.

* * *

**Clary POV**

The last thing Clary remembered before falling into a deep slumber was Magnus' face looming over her, telling her that she would wake up after an hour or two. She did just that, rubbing her groggy eyes and blinking to adjust her vision. Glancing down at her arm, she was relieved to see that the blue and purple marks had disappeared and that the dark red in her veins were gone.

"Clary, how are you feeling?" Jocelyn asked from the side of the room. Clary turned and gave her mom a small smile.

"Good—my arm feels as good as new."

"Glad to hear it. Listen, um, I have to go talk to Maryse about something, but you're free to roam around the Institute in the meantime," Jocelyn said. "I'll find you when I'm done, and we can go home."

"Yeah, okay," Clary nodded, easing herself off of the bed and trying to find her footing on the ground. She gave her mom a smile and wandered out of the infirmary, into the hallway. She walked off in one direction, not exactly sure where she was going. After a few minutes of taking random turns here and there, she gave a frustrated sigh and stopped in the middle of the hall, realizing she was lost.

"Clary!" Jace came running up behind her. "You're out of the infirmary."

Clary whirled around and smiled when she saw Jace. "Yeah, um, Brother Enoch was able to heal the mark, so I'm all better now. And wait until you hear the rest of it. I talked with my mom, and she allowed me to train with you guys—to become a Shadowhunter."

"That's awesome," Jace smiled. He glanced down at Clary's hand and took it in his. "I should show you around the Institute, since you're going to be coming here more often."

"Sure," Clary felt her cheeks turn warm and she followed Jace in the opposite direction that she had first gone. He took her all over the building. They went to the training room, the greenhouse, the parlor, the Santuary, the hundreds of guest bedrooms. Clary was so amazed at how big the Institute was. There seemed to be a room for every need.

Finally, Jace brought Clary to the bottom of the grand staircase in the foyer. He shared a look with Clary and smirked.

"Race you to the top?" she smiled, thinking exactly what Jace was thinking.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Jace bounded up the stairs, Clary in line next to him. The reached the top at pretty much the same time. Clary collapsed to the floor, laughing and panting at the same time.

"I've never climbed up a set of stairs that fast before," she grinned up at Jace. He dropped down next to her, smiling as well.

"I totally won that," he reminded her.

"What do you mean? You were behind me the entire time!" Clary protested. Jace just shook his head and pointed to himself.

Clary ignored him, and started repeating "I beat Jace!" in a sing-song voice. Jace chuckled and gave Clary a look. Then, impulsively, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Clary gave a small sound of surprise and froze. Jace pulled away and stared at her, waiting for her to say something. Instead, Clary leaned forward and kissed Jace back. She lifted her hands up and looped her arms around his neck when she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the corridor. The two jumped apart, startled, and hurriedly scrambled to her feet, turning around to find Alec and Jocelyn walking towards them.

"Clary! There you are," Jocelyn said, coming briskly towards them. "I was looking all over the place for you. Thankfully, Alec helped me find you."

"My pleasure," Alec rolled his eyes, stomping off past Jocelyn and Clary, giving her a look that said that he had seen what Clary and Jace had been doing.

Jocelyn looked back and forth between Clary and Jace and noticed how flushed Clary was. "Did I interrupt something?" she asked.

"No! No, of course not," Clary said quickly. "Everything's fine."

"Okay, well, we need to go home now. In case you forgot, you still have school tomorrow, and quite a bit of work to make up since you were absent for a couple of days," Jocelyn looked at Jace. "And I believe you have school tomorrow, too."

Jace nodded and led Jocelyn and Clary down the stairs and to the front door. "Bye Clary," he gave her a smirk as she left.

"Bye Jace," she smiled back and walked away with her mom.

* * *

**A/N: Awwww...hahaa did you guys like that? Jace and Clary is literally the cutest thing ever. *Sigh* Anyways, I hope that you guys got excited when Magnus arrived, or squealed in delight when Jace and Clary finally kissed *Swoon* Find out what happens to their relationship in Chapter 6!**

**On a side note...I didn't get many reviews for the last chapters and I had more than 5,000 words :( It would mean a lot if you guys reviewed, otherwise I wouldn't know if this fanfic is going well or not. Please? Thanks guys :) **

**Megan5202: **Ahaha, don't worry Valentine's going nowhere :) *hint hint* Thanks for reviewing!

**Guest:** Thank YOU for reading! I wouldn't be writing this if you weren't reading it :) I hoped you liked this chapter!

**Guest:** I'm glad you came across my story :) Hope you liked today's chapter, thanks for reviewing!

**Tell me what you guys thought of today's chapter! Hopefully you're liking the story so far and are anticipated for Chapter 6! In the next update, Simon will be brought back into the story and Clary will dive deeper into the Shadow World :) **

**I know I took forever to update, but I might take forever again because I'm in another country where there's no Wi-Fi...so I'm having a little bit of trouble writing...But I'll update as soon as I can find some internet connection! Thanks for all the love and support and I'll see you next time! Bye :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone, back again with Chapter 6. In today's chapter, Clary and Jace will discuss their newfound feelings for one another, and Clary will get an exciting message at the end of the chapter. Magnus will continue to chase after Alec and Simon will start bonding with Isabelle, *hint, hint*. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instrument series.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Clary POV**

The whole night Clary stayed awake, thinking about the kiss between her and Jace. No one had ever kissed her like Jace did. He filled it with such passion and intensity that when it was over, Clary had to resist the urge to fling herself back at him. Now that they had kissed, what did it mean for them?

She turned around under the sheets and squinted at the time shown on her alarm clock. _6:27 am,_ it read. _Might as well get up now,_ she thought, kicking her blankets off and pushing herself up off the mattress.

In the bathroom, Clary found herself eyeing her rarely touched makeup bag. She had this sudden impulse to use it, and also find something in her closet that wasn't a plain pair of worn out jeans and her green hoodie.

_Come on, Clary,_ she chided herself. _You don't need a tube of eyeliner and concealer to make yourself look pretty. Jace likes you the way you are._

On her way to school, Clary's thoughts were running through her mind anxiously. Normally, if she was worried about something, she could just turn to Simon for advice, but Simon currently wasn't speaking to her at the moment.

_I haven't seen or talked to him for the past two days..._Clary thought, biting her lip. _He must be wondering what happened._

She walked up the steps to her school and immediately her eyes began scanning the crowd of students, searching for Jace's golden hair. She didn't spot him, and a part of her relaxed.

"Clary?" someone asked from behind her. Clary turned around and came face to face with Simon. Her lips parted slightly and she stared at him, trying to find the courage to say hi.

"You're back...what happened...I mean, where were you the past two days?" He asked.

"I, uh..." Clary racked her brain for an excuse. "I was sick."

"I went by your apartment the other day, but no one answered the door," Simon frowned.

Clary's heart panged sadly. "You went by the apartment? I_—_I thought you didn't want to see me again."

"I know, a part of me didn't...but you're still my best friend, Clary," Simon gave a faint smile. "Whether you have feelings for me or not."

Clary nodded. "I'm really sorry, Simon. I've always seen you as a brother..."

"Yeah, I realize that now," Simon squared his shoulders. "We can just forget this entire thing happened."

"So...friends?" Clary asked.

"Friends."

"I'm sure the right girl for you will come along sooner than you think." Clary smiled brighter. "Do you wanna walk to homeroom with me?"

"Sure," Simon said wearily, falling into step with her.

"So what did I miss?" Clary asked, glancing sideways at his profile. He seemed...older...than they had last met, even though it had only been two days.

"Not much," Simon said truthfully. "School's been the same old, same old."

"Awesome," Clary sighed and entered her homeroom class. Jace and Isabelle hadn't arrived yet, and Clary tried to make sure that Simon didn't notice her longing glances at the door. Their teacher was sitting at their desk, snoring away, oblivious to the fact that class was going to start in a few minutes.

* * *

**Jace POV**

As Alec was driving Jace and Isabelle to school in his car, Jace had only one thing in his mind—Clary. She was unlike any other girl he had met. When Jace had kissed her yesterday, half of his mind was screaming at him to make sure he didn't break Clary—she seemed so petite and fragile. Yet she was extremely beautiful, in her own way. Like an angel.

Alec parked the car and the three Shadowhunters hopped out, walking fast inside the building so that they wouldn't be late. Jace and Isabelle walked down a different hall than Alec since he had a different homeroom than them. While Jace and Isabelle neared their classroom, they bumped into a tall girl with blond hair and a green tint. Jace had seen her before—on his first day, when he was getting his schedule from his office. He had only gotten a glance at her, but something had seemed off about her appearance.

Looking at her more closely this time, Jace suddenly realized what it was. He exchanged a look with Isabelle and realized that she had also figured out what it was about Kaelie. She was a pixie.

"Jace!" The girl smiled a bright smile. "Hi. I'm Kaelie. Kaelie Whitewillow." She extended her arm out. "It's really nice to meet you."

Jace smirked and shook her hand slowly. "Tell me, what business do the Fair Folk have here in St. Xavier's?" Jace asked, staring Kaelie in the eye.

Kaelie stiffened and nervously looked back and forth from Jace and Isabelle. "I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Don't play dumb with us," Isabelle placed her hands on her hips and gave an indignant look at Kaelie. "It's not hard to distinguish a pixie."

Kaelie held Isabelle's gaze for another minute before letting out a small 'huff'. "Why are you asking what business I have here, when you two yourselves are Nephilim?"

Jace gave Isabelle another look and turned back to the pixie. "Just send the Seelie Quest my well wishes." He pushed past her, Isabelle right on his tail, and walked to the door of their classroom.

"And I to your Clave. It must be so stressful to have rumors floating around saying that Valentine's back," Kaelie gave a superior grin and crossed her arms.

Jace whirled around and stared Kaelie dead in the eye. "How do you know about that?"

"What can I say? Gossip is gossip. You might want to tell your people to keep their voices low when discussing Clave matters," She started to back away. "Goodbye Jace Wayland and Isabelle Lightwood."

Jace watched her leave as Isabelle tugged on his sleeve.

"Never mind her, Jace. Come on—we'll be late."

He turned and followed her to the classroom. His eyes fell on Clary and he immediately veered over to her, only to have his steps falter when he saw her talking to Simon.

"Clary," he said, his tone sharp, clearly because of Simon's presence.

"Jace!" Clary beamed and Jace noticed Simon's expression turn sour. Clary's eyes followed Jace as he plopped down in the desk next to hers.

Isabelle sat down gracefully in the seat next to Simon, and crossed one leg over the other.

"Hi Simon," Isabelle flashed him a small smile and Simon's cheeks immediately turned red as he greeted her back. Clary raised her eyebrows and looked back and forth between the two.

Jace watched the entire scene unfold with a look of amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Okay..." Clary said slowly, giving them a weird look. "I'll leave you two to it then." She turned back to Jace. "I wonder what that was all about," she said, frowning.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class, but the teacher still slept on. Jace leaned forward and balanced his elbow on the desk. "I wouldn't worry about them," he smirked. Turning back into his serious mode, he studied Clary, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Clary replied.

"I wasn't talking about the demon mark, I was talking about the whole thing with Valentine," Jace said, trying to keep the guilt out of his voice. "I heard your mom telling you the entire story yesterday."

"Oh," Clary bit her lip. "Yeah...I guess I'm doing okay with that too_—_surprisingly." She looked up and he met her green eyes. "Look, I just want to tell you that I'm sorry that Valentine killed your parents_—_"

"Don't be," Jace interrupted. "It wasn't your fault, you don't need to apologize."

"I'm apologizing on behalf of Valentine," Clary said hurriedly. "He's a sick, twisted, pyschopath, and honestly I want him gone as much as you do."

Jace nodded and changed the subject. He reached forward, taking Clary's hand in his. "Are you going to come by the Institute today?" He took a small breath as he felt her cool hand touch his callused one.

"Yeah," Clary nodded, smiling. "I thought I'd take a closer look at what I'm about to get myself into."

* * *

**Alec POV**

Alec trudged through the halls of St. Xavier's, making his way to his homeroom class. So far, he hadn't enjoyed a single bit of this mundane school, and he honestly had no idea why he had to even be here. He understood why Jace was interested, as he was trying to score a date with Clary, and Isabelle was there because she was bored of sitting in the Institute being the only girl her age. But Alec had no interest in Clary's problems whatsoever.

Grumbling to himself, he ducked into his homeroom class and chose a seat in the back of the room. Their teacher was gone and in place was a sub, who was facing away from the class, scrawling his name up on the board. Alec didn't pay any attention to him, and started staring out the window with boredom.

It was only when the substitute started speaking in a familiar voice did Alec whip his head back to the board in surprise.

"Good morning class. Your teacher is out, so I'll be taking over for today," the substitute said, running a hand through his perfectly spiked, gelled hair and inspecting the class with his glittery blue cat eyes.

"Magnus?" Alec said incredulously.

* * *

**Simon POV**

Simon swallowed hard as Clary looked back and forth between him and Isabelle. It was too late to stop her from assuming anything now, otherwise he'd look suspicious.

"Okay..." Clary said, turning away from the two. "I'll leave you two to it then."

Simon pressed his lips together and faced Isabelle, who was still smirking. "So," she said, relaxing against her seat. "You're still not going to tell anyone about what happened two nights ago?"

"No," he pressed, giving her a pointed look. "No one can know."

"Why not?" Isabelle frowned. "Is that humiliating to you_—_the fact that we_—_"

"Of course not," Simon said hurriedly. In fact, it was probably one of his greatest achievements. He was still pretty shocked that he was able to score something with Isabelle, Isabelle, out of all people. The tall, slender beauty with long jet black hair and dark brown gold flecked eyes. She was gorgeous, and Simon tried not to take his luck for granted. "It's just that...if Clary finds out, she'll judge me forever-"

"I thought you didn't care what Clary thought of you anymore," Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest.

"I_—_I don't," Simon said, more to himself than to Isabelle. He looked up to her, with a new sense of confidence to him. "I don't. You can tell anyone_—_I don't care." He stood up, his voice growing louder and louder. "You can tell everyone that I slept with Isabelle Lightwood!"

"You _what_?!" Jace and Clary whirled around and stared at him and Isabelle.

Simon suddenly realized that he was standing with his fist in the air and entire class was looking at him, mouths gape wide open. He looked down at Isabelle who was grinning, then Clary, who was looking at him with a very, very, shocked face. And then Jace, who was trying to suppress his laughter behind his hand.

"Uh..." Simon quickly sat back down and gave Isabelle a _What am I supposed to do now?_ look.

"Is this true?" Clary demanded to Isabelle, who gave a small nod. Clary's eyes grew wide. "Are you serious? Simon, I can't believe_—_"

"Clary, I'm sorry if you don't approve, but you can't erase what happened," Isabelle cut in.

"No, no, I don't disapprove at all, I_—_" Clary closed her mouth and sighed. "It's great, really. I'm, uh...happy...for you...I guess."

Simon nodded and faced the front of the class, as their teacher had suddenly woken up and was giving the class a tired look.

"Flip to page 394 in your textbooks please," she said, yawning. Isabelle took Simon's hand and squeezed it, giving him a wink.

* * *

**Alec POV**

Alec continued to stare at Magnus, who gave off an expression saying that he found the entire situation to be quite hilarious. _Magnus Bane is standing in my classroom. And he's my sub for today,_ Alec thought to himself. _Could things get any weirder?_

"I recognize some of you here," Magnus said, wiggling his fingers in Alec's direction."All right then. Let's get started." Alec just covered his face with his hands and slumped down in his chair.

The class went on fairly well, and Alec discovered that Magnus was a surprisingly good teacher. Excepting the fact that he called only on Alec to answer his questions, the class seemed to love him.

After Magnus asked Alec yet again to explain to him how the attendance sheet should be filled out, the girl sitting on Alec's left leaned across the aisle and whispered to him, "Is the sub like, into you, or something?"

Alec blushed a deep scarlet and shook his head furiously. He turned back to Magnus who was watching the conversation with a smile tugging at his lips.

When the bell rang for the end of class, the students all filed out of the classroom, not giving a second glance at Magnus. Alec stayed behind and stomped up to the desk where Magnus was sitting.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, staring down at the warlock, enraged.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Magnus said, half ignoring Alec while inspecting his nails. He was lounging in his chair, feet up on the desk.

Alec seethed and balled his hands into his fists. He hated it when people answered his questions with questions. "Whatever, I have to go."

"Me too," Magnus leaped to his feet and picked up the small brown satchel he was carrying with him.

"Where else would you possibly have to be?" Alec asked, backing out of the room.

"I'm subbing for another class," Magnus followed Alec out into the hallway, which was filled with students.

"Which teacher?" Alec narrowed his eyes.

"Drew, English Honors," Magnus recited.

"You can't be serious," Alec stopped in the middle of the hall. "That's my next class!"

"What a coincidence," Magnus purred and swept his right arm wide. "By all means, lead the way."

"Why are you doing this?" Alec asked instead. "If you think that this is some form of making up for our argument yesterday, I'll tell you right now that it's not working."

Magnus stopped and his eyes fluttered to the floor and he took a step back, visibly hurt. "I see...Well, if that's what you say." He turned back and walked in the opposite direction.

Alec groaned and chased after him. "Magnus, I'm sorry. I didn't mean_—_"

"No, you meant exactly what you intended to," Magnus turned to face him. "I was wrong to mix with the Nephilim. I should have known that you people don't embrace Downworlders as your equals."

"Don't think that," Alec said, taking Magnus arm to stop him from leaving. "We're not all bad people."

"Oh, I sure hope not," Magnus scoffed, crossing his arms. "Otherwise the only reason I would have to ask you out is because you're hot."

Alec blinked, surprised at the words that just came out of Magnus's mouth. Then, acting only on a sudden whim, he leaned forward and kissed Magnus, who grinned against his lips.

* * *

**Clary POV**

As the bell rang for the end of homeroom, Clary walked out of her class, still a bit reeled at what Simon had declared about his time with Isabelle. Jace, who was walking next to her, noticed her expression.

"Don't worry about Simon," he said. Clary blushed at the fact that he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Isabelle will be good for him," Jace took Clary's arm and guided her through the throng of students.

Clary nodded as they made their way to their next class. She lifted her head up and stopped suddenly when she saw a pair of students_—_scratch that_—_a student and an adult—locking lips in the middle of the hallway.

"Jace..." she said, pulling on his jacket sleeve and nodding her head in the direction of the couple.

Jace lifted his head, looking at where Clary was gesturing to. "Huh. Well, would you look at that."

Clary slowly started walking towards the pair and cleared her throat when they were close enough to them. "Alec," she said. The couple jumped apart and the Shadowhunter looked at Jace and Clary with sheepish eyes.

"Jace! Clary!" Alec rubbed the back of his neck and his face turned as red as a tomato. "We were just—" he looked at Magnus helplessly. Magnus just shrugged, not miffed at all.

"What are you even doing here?" Clary gestured to the warlock.

"It's a long story," Magnus waved his arm dismissively.

"No need to explain," Jace put his hands on Clary's shoulders and steered her away. "You guys can...continue." Clary stifled a laugh as she and Jace left the pair.

Later that day, when school was over, Clary and Jace were waiting on the sidewalk, by the front gate. Simon and Isabelle came up to them, all smiles.

"Hey, I gotta go," Simon said, giving Isabelle a peck on the cheek. "We have a gig tonight at Java Jones. See you tomorrow, okay?" He paused and added, "Bye Clary."

"Bye," Clary smiled as Simon left. She heard a car approach and saw Jocelyn's car pull up to the curb. "Mom? What are you doing here?" she asked, walking over to the car and bending down to the open window.

"I thought I'd give you a ride to the Institute," Jocelyn smiled, patting the seat next to her. She craned her head up and spotted Jace and Isabelle standing on the sidewalk behind he daughter. "Do Jace and Isabelle need a ride?"

Clary turned to face the two with a questioning look. "Do you guys want a lift?"

"Alec brought his car today, so—" Jace started.

"Actually he texted me that he already left," Isabelle admitted. "He didn't look too happy for some reason, and I think he just wants to be left alone."

"I wonder why," Clary and Jace shared a grin. "Come on, you guys can ride with us."

The three teens got into the car and Jocelyn drove off. "Oh, Clary, something came in the mail for you today," she reached into the glove compartment and pulled out an envelope. "I brought it for you to read."

Clary took the envelope and brought out the letter inside. "It's from the school," she murmured, her eyes scanning the heading. "Dear Miss Fray, it is St. Francis Xavier School's greatest pleasure to tell you that you have been chosen to accompany 19 other students in this year's foreign exchange student program. Because of your outstanding grades, you will be traveling to Paris to live with a family for three weeks. The departure date is on Saturday, December 12th. Our flight will leave at 8 in the morning and the reporting time is 5:30 at the JFK airport. You will be dismissed from any school work during your time in France. All expenses will be paid except luggage and souvenirs. If you wish to travel to Paris, please have a parent guardian sign the permission slip attached. Medical forms and other release papers will be handed out tomorrow. We hope you will join us on our exciting journey to Europe. Have a nice day. Sincerely, The St. Francis Xavier School Administrator Staff."

Clary looked up from the paper and turned to her mom. "This is awesome. Can I go?"

"Let me see that," Jace snatched the paper out of her hands.

"I don't know, Clary," Jocelyn said. "With everything that's going on—Valentine and all, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"But, Mom!" Clary pleaded. "This is such an amazing opportunity! It's a once in a lifetime chance, and I don't want to miss out." She added on, "I promise I'll be extra careful. I won't go anywhere alone, and I'll call you every hour with updates—"

"Your mom's right," Jace cut in. "It's not safe. We can't risk it."

"This isn't any of your business," Clary gave him a pointed look.

"Of course it's my business," Jace said. "I'm a Shadowhunter and you're a soon-to-be Shadowhunter. And I care about you. If anything happened—"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Jocelyn looked up in the rear view mirror. "Are you guys dating or something?"

"That's not the point," Clary shook her head at her mom and looked at Isabelle. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think that you should be able to go," Isabelle nodded. "We have three months, if you train with us, you'll be able to take care of yourself."

Clary smiled and turned to Jace. "See?"

"Well, that's two against two," Jace protested. "We're not making any decisions yet."

"We'll see what Maryse has to say then," Jocelyn interrupted. Clary turned back in her seat and looked glumly out the window as her mom pulled up in front of the Institute.

* * *

**A/N: El Fin. Hope you guys liked reading that—this was a really fun chapter to write, I have no idea why...And I wrote it in, like, 2 days, so I'm really proud.**

**Thanks for all your kind comments! ****Some shoutouts:**

**pinkpanther6412: **Thank you and I hope you liked this chapter just as much :)

**Megan5202:** Ahaha yes, don't worry, there will be more to come :) Thanks for reviewing!

**AnnieBea:** I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll tell you right now that Clary is definitely going to be facing danger soon :)

**Taty98:** Hey :) I'm glad you're enjoying the story, I hope you liked today's chapter. Thanks for the review!

**Guest:** Haha, I'm happy you liked it :)

**Guest:** Don't worry, Valentine isn't leaving Clary and Jocelyn alone any time soon ;) Thanks for your kind words, and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!

**Anyways, so tell me what you guys thought of today's chapter! Did you like the Sizzy and the Malec? What about Clary's decision to go to France? Do you think she should go or not? The fun's just beginning!Leave a REVIEW! You guys did a good job last time, keep up the good work :)**

**Also remember to FOLLOW/FAVORITE please :)**

**In Chapter 7, Clary will figure out if she's able to go to France or not, and she'll start training with Jace, Isabelle, and Alec. Until then, have an awesome day, and I'll see you all soon :) Bye!**

**~bookwormbullet**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm here today with another great chapter for y'all. I have exciting things planned**—**read on to find out what happens with Clary and her trip to France, and some general hints at her future as a Shadowhuhter. Plus more Clace for your entertainment! Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: The Mortal Instruments is owned by none other than Cassandra Clare.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Clary POV**

Clary got out of the car without a word and walked up the front steps to the Institute, behind Jace and Isabelle. Jace opened the doors for them and after walking in, they were greeted by Maryse and a small boy who looked no older than seven years old.

"Hey Mom," Isabelle said looking over her shoulder. "We brought Clary...and Jocelyn."

Maryse nodded and gave a tight smile, beckoning for Jocelyn and Clary to follow her into the sitting room. "Come inside."

The two Fray women followed her and took a seat on the arrangement of elaborate sofas and armchairs. Clary smiled at Jace when he and Isabelle also entered the room, walking in front the same small boy Clary saw earlier. He had brown hair and round rimmed glasses that covered his grey eyes. He also was carrying what seemed like a comic book.

"Who's that?" Clary leaned to Jace and whispered.

"Clary, this is Max," Jace said out loud. "Our younger brother that Isabelle told you about? Max, this is Clary Fray, our friend, and her mother." Clary smiled and gave a little wave.

The boy just blinked and nodded. "Hi," he said in a small voice. He went over to his mom, whispering in her ear. Maryse smiled and nodded, pushing him gently out of the room. "Why don't you go to your room, Max? Clary, her mother, your brother and sister, and I have to talk about some grownup stuff."

Max's happy expression faded and he frowned. Grumbling to himself, he left the group and disappeared around the corner.

"Um, Mom, did Alec come home yet?" Isabelle asked.

"Oh he called me saying that he was going out and would be back within the hour. I don't know what he's up to, but we'll talk about it later," Maryse cleared her throat and turned to Jocelyn and Clary. "Anyways, we should discuss your trip to Idris tomorrow."

"About that..." Jocelyn started. "I don't think it's fair for Clary to go to Idris just to speak under the Mortal Sword. She already missed a couple of days of school, and I don't want her to fall behind. Can we postpone the trial to the weekend?"

Clary frowned at the unfamiliar terms. _Idris_. _The Mortal Sword._ Once again, she had no idea what words being said meant. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked, the same time Jace exclaimed, "Clary has to speak under the Mortal Sword?!"

Maryse ignored Jace and Clary and continued on. "The Clave already postponed the trial when Clary got hurt. Messing with the Clave's affairs isn't smiled upon. They're busy people Jocelyn. And personally, I don't see why you care so much about Clary's mundane education. She's a Shadowhunter—not a human. Her mundie school shouldn't matter at all."

"I raised Clary so she could be a mundane and not have to deal with inconveniences like the Clave is making now," Jocelyn fired back. "I want her to have a normal life, whether or not she is able to complete her duties as a Shadowhunter."

"Are you calling protecting the Shadowhunter race an inconvenience?" Maryse glared at Jocelyn.

"Someone please explain to me what this is all about!" Clary said loudly, interrupting Maryse and Jocelyn's banter.

Jocelyn looked back at Clary with a sympathetic expression. "Honey, the Clave wants you, Luke, and I to go to Idris—"

"Hold on, what's Idris?" Clary interrupted. "And what's the Mortal Sword?"

This time Isabelle answered. "Idris is the home country of all Shadowhunters—the capital and only city being Alicante."

"There's no country on this planet called Idris," Clary said, giving Isabelle a weird look.

"It's a hidden country for mundanes," Jace explained. "And it's located in between Germany, France, and Switzerland."

"But there's nothing in between Germany, France, and Switzerland," Clary said slowly.

"I know," the corner of Jace's mouth lifted upwards. "There are wardings placed all around the borders of the country and because of it, any mundane who comes close to crossing the country is instantly transported through to the other side of the barrier. That's why very few mundanes know about it."

"And the Mortal Sword is one of the three Mortal Instruments, including the Mortal Cup and the Mortal Mirror," Isabelle described. "It was given to Jonathan Shadowhunter by the Angel Raziel. It sits in the Silent City council chamber and is primarily used to interrogate Shadowhunters, as whoever holds the sword speaks nothing but the truth. Most Shadowhunter trials are held under the Mortal Sword to ensure the best verdict."

Clary silently processed this information in her head for a couple of minutes before nodding. "Okay..."

"Anyways," Jocelyn continued on with her explanation. "The Clave thinks that you and I or Luke have been contacting Valentine throughout all these years. They want to put us under trial under the Mortal Sword to see what we've been up to after I left the Shadow World." The anger in her voice was palpable.

"Are you serious?" Clary looked at her mom and then Maryse. "You know for a fact that I had nothing to do with Valentine, let alone my mother. And Luke. My mom tried to do everything in her power to keep me away from Valentine, not mix with him again."

Maryse shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It's the Clave's decision, not mine."

"You're _in_ the Council," Isabelle snorted. "You have enough power to change their decision."

Maryse exhaled and pursed her lips. "Fine. I'll see what I can do."

"Also," Jocelyn added. "There's something Clary got in the mail today." She looked at Clary, who looked to Jace, who fished the school permission slip out of his pocket.

"Here," he handed the paper to Maryse, who scanned through the letter. When she was done reading she glanced up at Clary with undecided eyes.

"Did any of you two or your brother get this paper?" She looked at Isabelle and Jace.

"You would know—it came in the mail this morning," Jocelyn said.

"Well, nothing for any of them came in," Maryse shook her head. She looked up at Clary and said bluntly, "This trip will interfere with your training."

"That's what I thought," Jocelyn replied immediately.

"I promise I'll train hard with the time that I have before the trip," Clary reasoned. "Please, I really want to go. I've never even set foot outside of New York, thanks to my—" she stopped and swallowed. Clary was going to say,_ "thanks to my mother's paranoia of the Shadow World,"_ but she realized how the words sounded before she could say them.

Maryse nodded understandingly. "How are the French families chosen?"

"I'm not sure if this is true," Clary admitted. "But I heard from the juniors last year that families in the destined country sign up to host a student in their home." She frowned slightly, not getting why Maryse was asking this. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just had an idea..." Maryse trailed off, looking down at the paper. "There's an Institute in Paris—owned by the Verlacs. The head is Elodie Verlac, and she stays there with her nephew, Sebastian Verlac. He's Alec's age I believe."

"The Verlacs," Isabelle echoed. "I've heard of them. They're related to the Penhallows, aren't they?"

"Yes," Maryse turned to her daughter. "Sebastian's mother was sisters with Patrick Penhallow."

"So what your suggesting that you contact Elodie and ask her to sign up for the foreign exchange program?" Jocelyn asked.

"Right," Maryse nodded. "Clary can stay with the Institute, and perhaps even continue her training there."

"But is it safe for us to put Clary in the hands of people she doesn't even know?" Jace piped up, obviously trying to sway Maryse's decision. Clary narrowed her eyes at him. As cute as it was that Jace was trying to protect her, she was finding it equally annoying.

"The Verlacs are also Shadowhunters, what's there to be safe about?" Isabelle retorted. "If you're worried about Sebastian, I can talk to Aline—she if she puts in good word for him."

"Who's Aline?" Clary asked, feeling more stupid than ever for asking so many questions.

"Aline Penhallow. She's a Shadowhunter, too. Cousins with Sebastian and Patrick and Jia's daughter. Her parent's run the Beijing Institute, and we're pretty close with her family," Isabelle answered.

"Oh," Clary nodded and kept the name in mind.

"I'm not worried about Sebastian," Jace said hurriedly to clarify Isabelle's previous statement. "I just don't think it's right that Clary has to stay with people she doesn't even know for _three_ _weeks_."

"So I'll get to know them—they're only two people!" Clary argued. "Jace, that's the whole point of this trip. To meet new people and have a new experience of living in another country."

Jace set his mouth into a firm line and avoided Clary's gaze. She sighed exasperatedly and turned back to Maryse and her mom.

"So we have an agreement then?"

"I guess so," Jocelyn nodded. "Do you want to start training now? You have about 2 and a half hours until we need to go home."

"Sure," Clary stood up along with Isabelle, who was about to lead Clary out of the room when Clary turned to Jace. "You coming?" She asked.

"Yeah," Jace said, the playful look in his eyes gone. He stood up slowly, as if he was really tired, and followed the two girls out. Clary walked alongside Jace trying to make small talk with him, but he just gave short, clipped responses.

"Did you bring any clothes that you can train in?" Isabelle asked, eyeing Clary's ripped jeans.

"Uh...I have my gym clothes," Clay offered, even though they were already drenched in sweat since she had to run laps in Gym today.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Follow me, I'll give you something to wear." She took Clary up the grand staircase and as they went up, Clary glanced over her shoulder at Jace, who was leaning against the wall at the base of the stairs, staring off into space, deep in his own thoughts.

She bit her lip and hurried up after Isabelle, who had stopped in front of room with the door wide open. Clary took only a step inside and suddenly the overwhelming scent of hairspray, perfume, and the faint burnt smell of a hair iron engulfed her. Looking around the room, Clary was fairly certain that she only saw hot pink, with the occasional black here and there. At first it seemed that there was no furniture inside, since every square inch was covered in some article of clothing. It was as if someone had taken a big suitcase of clothes and it had exploded, leaving clothes everywhere.

"Nice room," Clary mustered a smile and Isabelle beamed.

"Thanks," Isabelle walked to one corner of the room and swept a pile of clothes inside, revealing a dresser. She pulled one of the drawers and took out a black pair of yoga pants and a baby blue tank top, tossing them to Clary.

"I thought I would be wearing the black Shadowhunter gear that you guys were wearing the other day," Clary frowned.

"You're not immediately starting off with dueling and fighting demons," Isabelle smirked. "You need to work on some foundation stuff first."

Clary turned around and saw another door leading to another room, slightly ajar. She peeked in and found a fairly large bathroom. Slipping inside, she stripped off her clothes and shrugged on Isabelle's. After wearing them and tying her wild, red curls into a high ponytail, she faced the full length mirror located against one of the walls. Studying herself, she found that Isabelle's yoga pants were so tight that the hugged her body and revealed the smallest of curves. The tank top seemed the opposite, though, since she was flat-chested. The neckline drooped down and Clary found herself pulling it back up repeatedly.

When she was satisfied with her appearance, Clary stepped out of the bathroom and saw Isabelle sitting on her bed, changed into black athletic shorts and a light green tank top, with her phone in her hand, smiling.

"What are you looking at?" Clary gestured to the device, which was unsurprisingly pink as well.

"Um," Isabelle hesitated for a second. "Simon texted me."

"Oh," Clary nodded and tried to hide her disappointment. "Hey, can I ask what exactly happened between you and Simon?"

"You mean with the whole _"I slept with Isabelle Lightwood"_ thing?" Isabelle confirmed, grinning. When she saw the expression on Clary's face, however, her smile disappeared.

"Yeah, I mean..." Clary sighed. "I just thought that stuff like...this...was important to Simon. I didn't think that he would just_—_"

"Just what?" Isabelle interrupted coldly. "Just sleep with me on a whim? Clary, it wasn't like that at all. He was visibly upset over what happened with the two of you that morning, and I felt really bad for him, so I..." She shrugged. "I tried to take his mind off of things."

Clary couldn't help but give Isabelle a look of disbelief. "So that's what this was? You trying to counsel him into feeling better by pulling him into bed? How is that supposed to make me feel any better?"

"I don't understand why you care so much if you don't even have feelings for him."

"He's my best friend!" Clary exclaimed. "Of course I care about him!"

Isabelle looked away, sucking in her cheeks. "You know, before we even...did anything, we had this long conversation about how you."

"About me?"

"At first, you were the only thing he talked about. He told me every single little feeling he ever had for you. How he had wished since you two were in middle school that you would say yes when you got older. He loves you...a lot. I don't really know why, but I think I started to feel...jealous," She looked up at Clary. "And I don't _do_ jealous. You and Simon will always have something special that we can never have. And I respect that."

She stood up, brushing off imaginary dust off of her. "I just want you to know that I promise I won't hurt him, or do anything to make him feel uncomfortable. He's pretty important to me, too." She sighed and pushed her hair away from her face, giving a small smile at Clary. "We should go to the training room before it gets late."

Clary didn't move as Isabelle left the room. After a few seconds her tensed shoulders relaxed and she turned to follow Isabelle down the stairs again. Jace had disappeared from the base of the stairs and Isabelle led Clary to a big room. It was covered in tumbling mats and balance beams and ropes that hung from the ceiling. The overall look represented a gymnastics center, and Clary swallowed hard_—_she had almost failed the gymnastics unit in Gym.

In the middle of the room was Jace, who had also changed_—_wearing dark track pants and a tight fitted gray shirt that showed off his biceps and toned stomach. His back was facing the entrance and he didn't turn around as Isabelle and Clary came in. He was standing on a narrow beam about 6 feet in the air in the corner of the room, perfectly balanced, with two silver, gleaming, daggers in his hands. There were two dummies on the floor in front of the beam_—_a red and white target painted on their chests.

All of a sudden, Jace started running forward on the beam_—_his feet as light as a cat_—_and he jumped off the end, executed a perfect forward flip onto the ground while sinking both of the knives into the center of the targets on the dummies.

Clary sucked in a sharp breath as Isabelle smiled knowingly.

"That's Jace for you," Isabelle merely shrugged. "Don't worry, that'll be you one day, too."

Jace looked up as if he'd just realized that his sister and Clary were standing at the entrance, even though Clary knew this wasn't the case. He stood, dusting his hands off one another. "Ready to get started?" he said, walking over to her.

Clary took a deep breath and nodded, allowing Jace to lead her over to the same beam he was just on. Isabelle trailed behind them with an amused expression on her face.

"I want you to walk this beam with your eyes closed," Jace said simply. "With this book placed on your head." He walked over to the edge of the room, where a duffel bag lay. Jace pulled out a large book and when he handed it to Clary, she realized it was a copy of their history textbook from school.

Clary exhaled gave Jace a wavering smile. "Okay." She stared up at the beam, thinking, _It's just walking across a beam. How hard can that be?_

Isabelle pushed a step stool over and Jace helped Clary up onto the beam. Once she was standing carefully on it, Clary placed the book on her head, standing still for a few seconds so she could balance it correctly.

"Whenever you're ready," Jace called out. Clary exhaled and closed her eyes. Slowly, she took a step forward and was relieved to feel her foot touch the wooden surface of the beam instead of thin air.

"Trust that yourself. Trust that you won't fall and that your feet will hit the beam every time," Jace supplied. Clary was about to nod but remembered that there was a heavy object sitting on her head, and she stopped herself just in time. She was clearing the beam smoothly, placing one step in front of the other. She started to walk faster_—_with more confidence.

As she quickened her pace, she heard Jace say, "Slow down, there's no rush—" Suddenly her foot missed the beam entirely and she swayed sideways. Her eyes flew open and the book slid off her head. Clary flailed her arms wildly, trying to regain her balance, but she found herself falling off the beam. As quickly as it had happened, Clary felt a pair of arms catch her arms and when she looked up, she was met with Jace's concerned face staring down at her.

She quickly averted her gaze and slowly slid to the ground from his grip. "I'm sorry, I should have listened to you_—_"

"It's fine," Jace cut in. "Just remember what I said. You did pretty good for a first try."

"Oh my god," Isabelle said, exasperated. "I've had it with you two. Just cut the sexual tension and kiss and make up, already!"

Clary's cheeks flamed and she did her best not to look at Jace with her usual longing gaze. "...Let's just move on."

"Yes ma'am."

Clary didn't see it, but Jace gave Isabelle a wink. He walked over to the beam and helped Clary up again.

She went on the beam a few more times and soon she was able to go across it without falling or wavering her balance. She moved onto other exercises that helped her balance and improved her stability. The thing about Clary training that Isabelle had said was right. Demon fighting could only be done if all the basic stuff was mastered. There was a lot of tactics that came into play of being a Shadowhunter, Clary found. There was keeping your balance, staying quick on your feet, having sharp reflexes, being able to use your other senses if one of them was down, etc.

While Clary was training with Jace, she would look over and see Isabelle training by herself in the corner of the room. She had a shining blade in her hand and was whipping it back and forth. Clary couldn't help but stop and continue to stare. Something about her—not just Isabelle, but Shadowhunters in general—was so captivating. The way they moved and fought, extremely graceful yet so much fierceness and power. Clary could only hope that someday she could be half of the fighter that Isabelle, Jace, and Alec were.

By the time training was over, Clary was exhausted. She hadn't done much since it was her first day, but she still felt out of breath. There was so much to learn, and the anticipation was tugging at her painfully. As she walked out of the training room into the hallway with Isabelle, she turned to look at Clary.

"Listen, what you said earlier today—about Simon," Isabelle started. "I just want to let you know that I feel the same way about Jace. He's my brother, and I care about him more than I care about myself."

She smiled faintly. "I know that you think that you could never hurt Jace—you think that he's as impenetrable as a rock, but that's not true. You—every word and every action—affects him more than anything else in the world. He loves you, even if he doesn't want to admit it. Just keep that in mind, okay?"

Isabelle placed her hand on Clary's arm and was about to turn when she stopped. "That being said, I also have to add that you seem really strong and tough given your circumstances. But just like Jace, you have weaknesses inside of you that you don't show anyone. I just hope that Jace doesn't take advantage of that," she moved her gaze away from Clary when she said this, "and that he doesn't hurt you either."

Clary blinked and slowly nodded. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem," Isabelle looked behind her as Jocelyn and Maryse's voices drifted through the hallway. "Do you want to take a shower here or something?"

"No, it's okay, I'll do it at home," Clary looked down at herself. "And can I give you your clothes tomorrow morning?"

"Of course," Isabelle nodded. "See you at school." She turned and went back up the stairs just as Jace emerged from the training room.

"Hey," he smiled. "Good job on your first day."

Clary smiled. "Thanks for showing me the ropes."

"I'm a pretty good teacher, aren't I?" Jace smirked. Clary rolled her eyes, and Jace's face got serious again. "Listen, I'm sorry that I got a little mad over the whole France thing. I just want you to be safe_—_after what happened with Valentine's men, I don't want you to be in danger anymore." He walked closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them up and down her arms.

Clary nodded and pressed the palms of her hands against his chest. "I know, but I can assure you that I will be fine. I'll be extra careful and safe from now on, okay?" She leaned in and brushed her lips on his mouth. "Promise."

"Clary?" Maryse's voice rang out through the hall. Clary jumped apart from Jace, but thankfully Maryse was just rounding the corner and didn't notice the two. "Can you come here please?" the woman waved her over, Jace hurriedly following. They entered the sitting room again and Clary saw her mom in the same spot where she last saw her.

"First of all, I wanted to tell you that Jocelyn and I talked to the Clave, and they are willing to bring the Mortal Sword here at the Institute and perform the trial," Maryse began. "You'll have to come here on Saturday for that. The Consul and the Inquisitor—the two leaders in our Clave—," Maryse added for Clary, "will be joining us."

Clary nodded as Maryse moved on. "Second, I sent a message to Elodie Verlac in Paris, telling them about our situation. I haven't heard from her yet, but I will let you know what she says. Next," Maryse gave a quick glance at Jace, " Jace informed me before that when Valentine's men were trying to capture you, they put a rune on you that managed to make your body paralyzed. He said that the rune was unrecognizable and was an unusual shade of red. Is this true?"

"Yeah," Clary said, looking down at her hand. The rune had almost disappeared but if she traced her hand over the spot it had been drawn on, the scar could be felt. "It was weird—when the man was drawing the rune, it felt...wrong. Like some evil or dark thing was associated with it." She looked up to Maryse's grim face.

"Do you think you could draw it for us?" Maryse had a pen and paper with her.

Clary took the paper from her and gripped the pen tightly in her hand, thinking. She let her mind cast back to the memory of the man leaning down and moving his glowing stick across her skin. Clary closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the image. She could feel her own hand moving but she was focused only on the image and nothing else. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring down at a symbol full of twisted lines creating a circular shape. The symbol itself was enthralling. It held Clary's gaze for several minutes, even when she wanted to look away.

"Interesting," Maryse frowning. She took the drawing into her own hands and Clary suddenly broke away from the sudden trance that she was in, leaving her momentarily surprised at what had just happened.

"It's definitely not a rune I've seen before," Jocelyn pointed out.

"Yes, I'll take it to the Silent Brothers, perhaps even Magnus Bane, to see if they can make something out of it," Maryse murmured and looked up at Clary and Jocelyn. "Thank you for stopping by."

"Of course," Jocelyn stood up and gestured to Clary to follow her. "Clary will see you tomorrow again for training."

"Bye Mrs. Lightwood," Clary smiled at Maryse. She walked out of the room with her mom and Jace, who had insisted on walking her to the door.

"I'll see you in the morning," he planted a kiss on her head as Clary left with Jocelyn.

* * *

Later that night, Clary was just finishing up on her Literature homework at a little past one o'clock in the morning. She had been so caught up with the new aspects of Shadowhunters that she kept getting distracted with her school work. And it didn't help that she had to make up two days worth of homework either.

Finally, Clary typed her last sentence on her essay and sent the document to be printed in the room where Jocelyn kept her art work and supplies. She went over there now, and picked it up from the machine. As she was walking back to her room, Clary heard a few creaks coming from one of the floorboards of the apartment, as if someone was walking around.

Frowning, she went to her mother's bedroom and saw Jocelyn sleeping peacefully in bed. Clary's heartbeat quickened and she crept into the living room and kitchen, which were both empty. The sound hadn't come again in the past few minutes, so Clary just dismissed the noise as her imagination and went back to her room.

After she had packed up all her things and used the bathroom, Clary was sliding into her bed under the covers. Just then, she heard another floorboard creak, followed by a faint thump of someone bumping into a piece of furniture.

"Hello?" Clary sat up, trying to see through her doorway in the dark. "Is anyone there?" No response came, and eventually the exhaustion from the day's activities took over and Clary decided to close her eyes and try to go to sleep.

Only a few minutes had passed when Clary heard another creak on her floor—this one much closer to her bed. Then a low breath exhaled—not from Clary, but from someone else. Clary's eyes flew open in alarm and she jolted up, only to come face to face with a figure sprawled on the foot of her bead, leaning against the bed post, their white teeth glinting from their smile in the pale moonlight. It was a person that she hoped she'd never have to meet—the person that had caused so much pain and grief for her mother.

Clary stared at them, her mouth falling open. Slowly trying not to gain the nerve to scream, she manage to whisper a single word.

_"Valentine?" _

* * *

**A/N: Ahhhh, cliffys. Gotta love them :)**

**Soooo how'd this chapter turn out to be? We got some Clace, some Izzy and Clary bonding time, a glimpse of Izzy's room, Jace and Isabelle's expert Shadowhunter skills, and everyone's favorite dad made a surprise visit at the end of the chapter.**

**Oooh, and we found out where Clary will be staying in Paris ;) If she'll be staying with the Verlacs, maybe we'll meet a certain pale blond headed boy *wink* Shoutout to AnnieBea for having really good guessing skills :)**

**Hahaa, leave me one of those wonderful reviews you guys so very nicely write :)**

**AnnieBea: **Someone knows how to foreshadow things well :)

**love-that-Lovelace:** Okay first of all, I _love_ your username! (no pun intended) Hoped you liked today's update!

**ICanExplain: **I know right?! Our school probably wouldn't even take us to Washington D.C., let alone France.

**Megan5202:** Hmmm, interesting...Well maybe today's chapter sort of gave you an answer to your prediction. We'll see what happens :)

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting guys, you are all so wonderful :) I'll see you guys on the next chapter hoepfully sometime soon! Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to REVIEW or FOLLOW and FAVORITE if you haven't' done so already!**

**Have a great day! I'll see you guys soon :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi everyone, I'm here with Chapter 8 for you :) I left you guys off with a huge cliffy last chapter, and I'm really sorry I took so long to update. If any of you are mad, the only reason I can give is school, and my other life aside from FanFiction. Maybe it doesn't seem like a good excuse to you guys, but for me it is. The only time I really have to update is the weekends, but I still have extra-curriculars and stuff, so it's hard to find time to write.**

** I also had MAJOR writer's block**_—_**I wrote and then erased the entire thing and then rewrote every single word again over 4 or 5 times...it was that bad. Hopefully all the work pays off :)**

**OMG has anyone seen the trailer and the clips for the Shadowhunters TV show?! It looks so cool! I honestly cannot wait until January.**

**Going back to the fanfic, we last left off with Clary seeing Valentine at the foot of her bed. Let's get on with the story shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Clary POV**

"_Valentine?_"

Clary continued staring at him, and immediately dozens of thoughts and emotions started swimming through her brain all at once. She realized that her mouth was still gape wide open, so she decided to make the best use of it. Taking a deep breath, she was about to release a bloodcurdling scream for her mother, but then Valentine raised his fingers to his lips.

"There's no point doing that," he whispered. "This entire bedroom's soundproofed, so your mother won't hear a thing."

Clary's breath hitched when he spoke. She hadn't heard a single syllable from her dad before, and it was strange to experience it firsthand. His voice was cool, calm, and confident, yet it had so much rage and chaos and vulnerability swimming around the surface. She also didn't want her mother to get involved and end up getting hurt in the process, so she closed her mouth, swallowing hard.

"W-what are you doing here?" she managed to ask, not sure if she should ignore his statement and scream or cry or tackle the man sitting across from her. She was also still in shock_—_her mind was flashing red lights as a warning sign.

Valentine's smirk faded into a concerned look and he sat up straight, slightly leaning towards her. "I wanted to come see you," he replied earnestly.

"Oh," Clary simply said. She didn't know why she sounded...disappointed. Did she really expect him to have come for anything else?

"That being said..." Valentine's eyes darted about Clary, examining her features, perhaps trying to see if there was a part of him in her. _Is there?_ Clary thought dauntingly._ I sure hope not._

"...it's good to see you, Clarissa," Valentine continued. "You must have realized by now that this is the first time I've seen my daughter in 17 years."

His words made something click inside Clary's head, and soon she was full of the fiery persona of a Fray again. "_Don't_ call me that," she spat. "I'm no daughter of yours."

Valentine's jaw set, but he didn't look hurt. "Clary," he began. "I understand how you feel_—_"

"How I _feel_?" Clary interrupted him with a look of surprise. "You don't have _the slightest clue_ about how I feel. I had no idea that I shared your DNA; that my mom was once married to you; that I come from a line of half angel demon hunters; that I wasn't a normal, human, girl living in New York," she stared at Valentine straight in the eye. "You don't know anything about me. You're _not_ my father, Valentine, as much as you say it."

"You can't possibly blame me for not being around during your life," Valentine gave her an incredulous look. "I'm in the same boat as you are, Clary. I didn't know you even existed until a couple of months ago."

"And there was a reason for that," Clary shot back. "My mom left you. She didn't want me mixing with you—"

"I know," Valentine cut in. "I know...but I promise you Clary—I am not the same man that I was back then. I've changed," he leaned forward and grabbed Clary's hand, "for the better."

Clary flinched as her skin touched Valentine's.

"So now that I'm here again," he continued, "I'd really like to get to know you better. Can we just talk...please?"

Clary hesitated, her shoulders relaxing inch by inch. _Can I trust him?_ she thought, biting her lip. She found herself opening her mouth reluctantly and saying, "Okay...fine, go ahead." She wasn't completely sure what made her make her mind, but maybe it was the fact that she was meeting her alleged dad for the first time, or the fact that she had heard so many stories about him and now she finally got to see if those stories were true, that she agreed.

Valentine's pleading look was quickly replaced with his condescending smile and Clary immediately regretted her decision. But, nevertheless, she squared her shoulders and braced herself for the conversation that was to come.

* * *

**Kaelie POV**

Kaelie Whitewillow wasn't a ordinary girl. She was probably anything _but_ ordinary. Sure, she was a "ordinary" teenage girl working at a local diner during her time off from school, but it was probably the fact that the diner served Downworlders and Shadowhunters, and the fact that she was a Seelie faerie that took out the ordinary part from it.

Right now, she had just ended her shift at Taki's and was untying her apron, hanging it up on the designated hook in the storage room. She collected her bag, gave a small wave to her boss and exited the diner, spilling out onto the cold pavement. She headed in the direction of the subway, which would take her to Central Park.

Once she had reached the park, which was pretty much deserted excepting the occasional couple strolling through the winding pathways, she kept walking until she reached the Turtle Pond. Its water was shimmering softly in the moon's reflection. She took a glance around her and then turned, facing away from the soft ripples. Stepping backwards, she let the magical barrier pass through her body until she was standing straight in a dark, narrow cavern, with a curtain of rose petals hanging down in front of her.

Kaelie straightened her posture, glancing down at her new outfit, which had changed upon her arrival at the Seelie Court. Instead of her high-end jeans and white blouse, she was wearing a sparkling green dress that hung past her knees. On her feet were daintily little slippers and her hair was now cascading down her shoulders in light curls.

Putting a smile on her lips, Kaelie walked forward, pushing the rose petal curtain aside and stepped into a large room that seeming stretched upwards into a black void. The walls were covered with sparkling, shiny mirrors, and they reflected off of one another brightly. She walked up to the cushioned love seat that was placed in the middle of the room, and curtsied down—so low that she was practically sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"M'Lady," she said respectfully.

"Rise," a sublime voice floated through the hall. "Welcome back, Kaelie Whitewillow. What news have you brought us?"

"M'Lady," Kaelie began lifting her face up to meet the Seelie Queen. "Clarissa Fray is continuing to spend time with the Nephilim of the New York Institute."

"You mean the Lightwoods?" the Seelie Queen clarified. "And the Herondale boy?"

"Yes, M'Lady," Kaelie nodded.

"Ah, well, there is not much we can do about that," the Seelie Queen said aloud. "But we can, perhaps, strain their relationship..."

"With the help of Valentine Morgenstern?" Kaelie echoed.

"Yes," the Seelie Queen smiled condescendingly. "As a matter of fact, he is at her apartment now, with Clarissa." She sighed and then chuckled. "What a conversation they must be having..." Her smile disappeared and she looked back at Kaelie as the girl spoke.

"And what of the Morgenstern boy?"

"Oh yes, he is still in Paris," the Seelie Queen replied. "Valentine has instructed him to stay there until Clarissa arrives in France. Ask her tomorrow to see if she's made up her mind or not about going."

The Queen paused and tilted her head to the side. "You know, it was very clever of you to..._convince_...the administrator staff to change the travel destination from Rome, Italy to Paris, France."

Kaelie beamed and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Speaking of your life at that mundane school...Clarissa still does not know of your true identity, does she?"

"No, she does not. Only her Nephilim friends do."

"And they will no doubt tell her," the Seelie Queen's perfectly arched eyebrows burrowed. "You know what this means, do you not Kaelie? You must keep your guard up. Valentine Morgenstern is providing great opportunities to the Fair Folk, and we must repay him in return."

She leaned forward. "And remember, the Nephilim can _never_ find out what we are up to."

"Of course, M'Lady."

* * *

**Clary POV**

"Thank you," Valentine gave a curt nod. "I suppose we'll begin with...how's your life been like here, in New York?"

"Um..." Clary frowned. "It's been good, I guess. New York is the only place I've ever really known. I've never slept in bed that wasn't in New York, so this place really is my home."

"I see," Valentine said. "And what did Jocelyn say in excuse to my...absence?"

"She..." Clary hesitated. "She said that you—or, my dad—had died before I was born, in a car accident. I realize now how lame of an excuse it was, but I never asked her about it, because she got so emotional."

"What about—"

"Enough about me," Clary interrupted. "I need to ask you some things too."

"Go on," Valentine nodded.

"My mom," Clary began. "And one of the Lightwoods, they told me that Stephen and Céline Herondale's death was your doing."

"Stephen," Valentine repeated softly. "That's a name I haven't' heard in a long time. He really was a good man."

"What happened to them?" Clary said. "Why did you kill them?"

"I didn't kill them," Valentine protested. "Stephen died because he was a little too careless during one of our raids, and it definitely wasn't my fault that Céline was so in love with him."

Clary stared at his bluntness in horror. She gritted her teeth together and managed to ask another question. "Fine. And what about my brother? My mom said that I had an older one. And she also happened to say that you were the reason he died as well."

"He's not—" Valentine started but then stopped suddenly. "It wasn't my fault," he said instead. "If you knew the real story, you'd know that I had nothing to do with it."

"So _tell_ _me_ the real story!" Clary demanded. "He was my brother, I have a right to know!"

"And I will tell you, when the time is right," Valentine assured her.

"What time would that be?" Clary gave him a look. "Why are you talking as if you showing up in my bedroom and asking me about my life is going to be a regular thing?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you even here? What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything _from_ you," Valentine shook his head. "I want _you_. To come with me."

"What? Come with you where?"

"You'll see when we get there," Valentine said, standing up and brushing off imaginary dust from himself. "There's a Portal downstairs, waiting for us—all of us, your mother, you, and I—to go through."

"Are you kidding? I'm not going anywhere with you! You're a murderer. A liar, and a cheat. Nothing less than a _monster_." She stared at Valentine and shook her head in disgust. "This discussion was completely useless, I should have just ran when I got the chance." Rolling her eyes, she took a step towards the door.

"No!" Valentine lunged forward and grabbed Clary. She yelped and jumped out of the way, scrambling past him and this time running out the door, yelling for her mother.

Immediately, she came face to face with Jocelyn, who was standing in her PJs at the end of the hall, baseball bat in hand.

"What? What is it?!" she asked urgently.

"It's Valentine. He's here," Clary whispered back frantically, pulling on Jocelyn's sleeve. "We need to get out of here, now!"

"Wait, what? _Valentine's here_?!" Jocelyn ran after Clary, exiting the apartment and bounding down the stairs to the first floor.

Above them, Valentine leaned over the staircase railing and yelled down. "Pangborn!" He shouted. "Pangborn, get a hold of them!"

Clary whipped her head towards the door, which had opened, revealing a tall burly man with an evil grin twisted onto this face. Her eyes widened in horror, and she turned desperately to her mother. "What do we do?!"

"Clary, run," Jocelyn still had the bat in her hand, and now she raised it, her fingers gripping the handle tightly. "Run to Simon's house. And don't look back."

"What are you talking about—" Clary began, and Jocelyn suddenly jumped forward, swinging the baseball bat. It made a satisfying crunch on Pangborn's arm and he howled in pain.

"Go Clary! Now!" Jocelyn shouted at her.

"I can't just leave you here!" Clary cried out. Jocelyn kicked Pangborn in the chest, and he stumbled outside, Jocelyn following him. Clary was about to chase after her, but then a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She screamed and whirled around, coming face to face with Valentine, who gave her a menacing smile.

"You're coming with me," he snarled, shoving her forcefully out of the apartment. Clary pried his hand off of her shoulder and scurried away, only to be caught again. This time Valentine lifted her up into his arms and walked towards the wall of the apartment building, where there was a ring in the shape of an oval, as if it had been scorched in a fire. In the middle of the oval was a purple substance that was rippling like waves in the ocean. There was a mist that floated out of the oval that danced around in Clary's vision.

"What is that?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"That, Clarissa, is a Portal," Valentine said grimly. "If you go through it, it'll take you anywhere in the world that you wish to go to. But, if you go through it without thinking of your destination, you'll be lost within the dark abyss."

"Really?" Clary breathed. "Huh...thanks for the tip." She reared back her arm and elbowed Valentine in the face. He dropped her while crying out and Clary fell to the floor, her leg twisting painfully underneath her. She stood up nimbly and mustered all her strength to shove Valentine backwards, into the Portal. He realized a second too late where he was falling and his shouts of despair faded out as he disappeared in the purple void.

Clary heaved a sigh of relief, and clutched at her leg, panting. She lifted her head and realized that her mom and Pangborn were nowhere to be seen.

"Mom?" Clary stood up, balancing her weight against the staircase railing so she didn't put pressure on her leg and hobbled towards where she had last seen Jocelyn, right outside the apartment. She ducked inside and took a look around the lobby. It was a mess, but Jocelyn had mysteriously vanished.

Suddenly, Clary heard a loud sound, followed by a "_Clary_!" She limped outside just in time to see Pangborn with a hold of her mother, edging to the Portal. He took a step through, and pulled Jocelyn along with him, just as the Portal spiraled to a close and disappeared, leaving behind burn marks on the brick wall.

"MOM!" Clary screamed and limped to where the Portal had just been. The wall was burning hot and she jumped back when she reached out touch it.

"No, no, no, no..." Clary covered her mouth with her hands, gasping back sobs. "This can't be happening..." She looked around her, calling out her mom's name repeatedly, and yet there was no answer. There was no one on the streets—no one who could help her. Losing her balance, she placed her bad foot on the ground, and exclaimed out loud when the pain shot up her leg. Clary collapsed to the ground, and ran her hands through her hair, too tired to stand up again.

_Go, get up. Go inside,_ her mind was saying. _Find your phone._ _Call someone. Call Jace. Call Simon. Call Luke. Call_—

Clary let another sob escape before picking herself up back on her feet and slowly hobbling back inside the building. She took the stairs one at a time, crying out every time she had to put her bad foot down, and finally reached her apartment. Clary headed to the desk in her room, shuffling all her papers and art supplies on her desk before finding her phone hidden in the mess.

She hurriedly went to her contact's app and scrolled through her phone, her finger stopping when she reached Jace's name. The phone dialed, and Clary fell back on her bed, while tears streamed down her face.

_Come on, come on. Pick up the phone. _

* * *

**Jace POV**

Jace was sprawled on his bed, with a textbook balanced on his chest. He was trying to read the chapter that Maryse had assigned to the Lightwoods to study, but he found it hard to concentrate. Alec still hadn't come back yet from school, even though he had promised his mother that he would be back within an hour. And since Alec was usually someone who went to bed no later than eleven o'clock, Jace was beginning to worry.

Suddenly his phone started buzzing from his nightstand. He glanced over and pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning over to pick his phone up. Holding the screen up to his face, his mood lightened when he saw that it was Clary who was calling him. He clicked answer and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hey Clary," he greeted.

"Jace! Oh, thank god you answered!"

Jace sat up straight, frowning at Clary's frantic tone. "Clary, what's wrong?" he asked cautiously.

"I-it was Valentine. He came to my house and—" Clary stopped and gave a little cry as if what she was trying to say was too painful to spit out.

Jace was on his feet in an instant. He raced to his closet, pulling out his weapons belt. "Valentine was at your apartment?!"

"H-he came and appeared in my room and we were talking...and I tried to run away, but then he called out to one of his men...and then my mom..." she trailed off as voice broke.

"Jace, just _please hurry_."

"All right," Jace stuffed his stele and witchlight into this pocket. "I'm coming over, just hang tight, okay?" he raced out the door, almost crashing into Isabelle in the hallway.

"Whoa, watch where you're going," Isabelle said. Her eyes fell on Jace's gear and weapons, and she frowned. "What's going on? Why are you—"

"Clary's in trouble. Valentine was at her apartment," Jace interrupted hurriedly. "I need to get to her."

Isabelle didn't respond but ran after Jace to the front door, stopping at the weapons room on the way. They emptied out onto the pavement outside and ran to the subway station, as this was the quickest method to getting to Brooklyn. But even if it was the quickest method, it would still take a while to get to Clary's apartment.

"We're never going to make it in time," Jace said worriedly, sharing a look with Isabelle.

"Call Alec," she suggested. "If he's still out, maybe he's near Clary's apartment and will be able to get to her before we can."

Jace nodded and pulled out his phone, dialing Alec's number hurriedly. The call went straight to voicemail, and Jace swore out loud.

"He's not answering," he said bitterly.

Isabelle bit her lip and glanced warily at the time on her cellphone. The ride to Brooklyn took about thirty more minutes and when they finally reached, Jace and Isabelle barged out of the station, tearing down the streets of Park Slope, in the direction of Clary's apartment.

Jace was running ahead of Isabelle, his seraph blade banging on his thigh repeatedly. He was too distracted to move it, however, and he kept running until he saw a blob of red hair sitting on the front steps of a building in front of him.

_Clary..._he thought in relief. He shouted her name and she looked up sharply, a wave of alleviation passed her face. She placed her hand on the railing next to her and hauled herself up, standing on one leg. Jace ran forward and crashed into her, holding her tightly as her body shook with cries.

"It's okay, you're okay..." he murmured words of comfort. "I'm here. You're safe now." He cupped her wet cheeks in his hands and examining her face. "Did you get hurt anywhere?"

"My leg..." Clary began, but Isabelle finally caught up to Jace and Clary.

"Clary, oh my god," Isabelle appeared beside him. "What happened?"

Clary's sullen look deepened. "It all happened so fast...I-I was going to sleep and then I heard a noise, and when I woke up, Valentine was sitting at the foot of my bed."

Jace's fists clenched impulsively and he gritted his teeth. "Why was he there?"

"I'm not sure—he said he wanted to talk to me about how I was doing in New York...since this was the first time he had ever seen me..."

"And then?" Isabelle prompted.

"The discussion ended up taking a bad turn, and I tried to run out of the room. He caught up to me, and told me he wanted to take me away—he said he had a Portal—"

"A Portal?" Jace's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, over there," Clary pointed to the circular burn marks on the wall. "I called for my mom and we were so close to leaving the apartment building and escaping him. But then he called for one of his men—a man named Pangborn—who grabbed my mom disappeared through the Portal..."

Isabelle's mouth formed an 'o,' and she stared back at the scorch marks on the wall as if Jocelyn would walk back trough the wall into Brooklyn in any second now.

"We need to tell your mom, Izzy," Jace said, giving Isabelle a worried look. "If Valentine really is back, then we're all in trouble, not just Clary." He looked over at the redhead, who was rubbing her arm absentmindedly and staring off into space.

"Come on, you can come with us to the Institute," Jace extended his hand and Clary's eyes snapped back to him.

"Wait, I need to call Luke," Clary said, pulling out her cellphone. "And Simon, I should—"

"Clary, Simon doesn't need to know about any of this," Isabelle cut in. "He doesn't even know that Shadow World exists, much less that Jace and myself are Nephilim."

Clary closed her mouth and gave a sigh of agreement. "Fine," she went back to her phone. "But I'm still calling Luke." She was about to take a step backwards, when her foot slid sideways, reigniting the pain she had gotten when she twisted her ankle while fighting Valentine. Clary groaned and flung her arms out, catching the closest thing to her, which happened to be Jace.

"Whoa there," Jace's arms shot out and he grabbed a hold of Clary. "What's wrong?"

"My ankle," Clary grimaced. "I think I sprained it or something."

"Here, let's sit you down," Jace slowly lowered Clary onto the front steps and took her ankle in his hands. "It's just a minor sprain. Nothing a little _iratze _won't fix." He reached down to pull out his _stele_ from his pocket when Clary swatted his arm away.

"No, no runes," she said sternly. "Last time someone put a rune on me, I almost died."

"Clary," Jace was a little taken aback at her outburst. "The _iratze_ will get you healed in minutes—"

"It's fine," Clary cut in. "I'll deal with it myself."

Jace closed his mouth and put the _stele_ away. "Okay...well, you can't walk back to the subway station..." he exchanged a look with Isabelle. "Izzy, can you call Alec? If he picks up this time, then tell him to bring his car over to Clary's place."

"Yeah, sure," Isabelle stepped away and took out her battered pink cell phone. Jace turned back to Clary and gestured to the phone that was in her own hand.

"Call Luke," he advised. "Tell him we're here at your house and that we're going to be at the Institute soon."

"Oh...right, okay," Clary nodded and dialed Luke's number. Once Luke had picked up, it took several shaky breaths for Clary to tell him everything that happened, and by the time she had hung up, a new set of tears were running down her face.

Jace had his hand in Clary's hair, running it through her wild curls when Isabelle came towards them.

"Alec answered," she said, giving a grim smile. "He'll be here soon."

Jace nodded and exhaled, looking over at Clary. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," Clary sniffled and rubbed her eyes. She sat still for a second before turning to Jace. "How are we gonna get my mom back?"

"We'll figure it out," Jace assured her. "Right now, we should focus on getting you back to the Institute, and healed."

He looked up as suddenly the screech of rubber tires against the cement was heard. Alec's car skidded to a stop in front of the gang, and Alec was out of the car in an instant.

"What the hell is going on?!" He asked, running to the group. "Izzy said that _Valentine_ was here! Why were you guys trying to fight him by yourselves?!"

"We weren't fighting Valentine," Jace replied. "He was long gone before we arrived."

Alec's eyes fell on Clary, and he looked at her as if he had noticed her for the first time.

"Tell me everything, from the beginning."

* * *

**Valentine POV**

"Valentine...Valentine, wake up...VALENTINE!"

Valentine woke up with a start, caughing up what seemed like a mixture of water and blood. His vision blurred into focus, and he blinked, staring up at the looming face of Pangborn before him.

"Eh...you all right?" Pangborn gave Valentine a strange look.

Valentine ignored him, and pushed himself up to his feet. His clothes were all wet and he was covered in filth and mud. Lifting his head up, he looked around, taking in his surroundings.

"How did I get here? Clary pushed me into the Portal before I could come up with a destination—I should have been lost in the Portal," he gave Pangborn a puzzled look. "And where is exactly _is_ here?"

"I think we're in France," Pangborn grunted.

"Well, we're definitely not in Paris," Valentine threw his hands up in the air. There were green hills rolling up and down all around them, and there didn't seem to be any urban civilization anywhere nearby. The sun was just rising, creating a red and pink filled sky. Valentine had no time to appreciate the sunrise, though. He needed to get to Paris, and fast.

"Wait...where's Jocelyn?" he suddenly realized in alarm.

Pangborn stepped aside, revealing Jocelyn. She was lying on the ground, eyes closed, breathing softly. "I put a rune on her, so she'd stay asleep while we got to the safehouse."

"Good," Valentine exhaled in relief.

Suddenly, a blaring sound of a sheep rang out from behind them. Pangborn and Valentine whirled around and came face to face with a sheppard, who was staring at the two Circle members with wide and confused eyes.

"Vous êtes désembuage perdu?" the sheppard asked. _Are you misters lost?_

Valentine and Pangborn shared a look, and Valentine stepped forward.

"Savez-vous où nous en sommes?" he inquired in French. _Do you know where we are?_

"Vous êtes en Limousin. En France, monsieur," the sheppard answered. _You are in Limousin. In France, sir._

"Et la manière qui est Paris?" Valentine said. _And in which direction is Paris?_

"Environ 5 ou 6 jours au nord sur pied, monsieur," the sheppard pointed behind him. _About 5 or 6 days north on foot, mister._

"Merci beaucoup, monsieur. Nous lui sommes très reconnaissants de votre aide. Malheureusement, personne ne peut savoir que vous nous parler." _Thank you very much, sir. We are very grateful for your help. Unfortunately, nobody can know that you talked to us._

Valentine reached behind his back and pulled out a knife, slicing it across the sheppard's throat. The sheppard fell foward, landing with a soft thud. The sheep blared again and scattered, leaving Valentine and Pangborn.

"Dispose of the body," Valentine looked at Pangborn. "We're headed to Paris."

* * *

**A/N: Ooooh. Valentine's so daunting o_O. Glad I don't have him as a father. **

**How'd y'all like the chapter? Please review and tell me if you have any comments, questions, and/or concerns!**

**Some shoutouts:**

**ICanExplain: **Ahaha, thank you :) And yes, I'll definitely get the word out, no problem. I'll also let you know if I need some help, thanks!

**Rebecca Fairchild: **Nice username :) Thank you for your kind words! I'm sorry the update took so long :(

**Guest: **MWUAHAHAHA! Lol, hope the cliffy didn't keep you hanging for too long! Glad you're obsessed, thank you for reading!

**TMIlover-5202: **No, no, your predictions are awfully close to the truth. Keep them coming! Hopefully you enjoyed today's update :)

**bookgirl: **Here's your update, hope you liked today's chapter!

**Thanks everyone for being so patient. I'll work hard on the next chapter, promise. You'll see Clary trying to recover from her mom's disapparence, the Lightwoods and Jace will be hard at work trying to find Valentine, and we'll have a possible Kaelie vs. Clary moment. Stay tuned!**

**And as always, remember to **favorite/follow** and don't forget to **review**! Thank you so much, and I'll see you with Chapter 9 :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Welcome to Chapter 9 everyone! I actually updated on time, guys, this is real improvement. Anyway, we last left off with Clary and Valentine and Jocelyn and Pangborn all getting into a bit of a fumble...To recap: Pangborn took Jocelyn through the Portal, Valentine also ended up going through the Portal, Clary got a minor ankle injury, Jace and Izzy came to save the day, Kaelie and the Seelie Queen are evil (no surprise there), and if I remember clearly...there was a mention of Morgenstern boy...I wonder who that might be?!**

**Ahaha thanks guys for being so patient! I did get a very very low amount of reviews on the last chapter, but that's not stopping me from updating, so you're welcome.**

**Let's get on with the story, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: All rights for character, setting, and some other names go to Cassie Clare.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Clary POV**

Jace helped Clary stand up slowly. She leaned on him as she hobbled towards Alec's car, and once everyone was seated, Jace told Alec everything that had happened that night. The Lightwood only listened with a grim face, and drove in the direction of Luke's apartment.

When they reached his place, Clary saw a familiar, battered, pick up truck parked in front of the building. Craning her neck, she spotted a man pacing back and forth anxiously on the sidewalk.

"Luke!" Clary called out and flung open the car door the minute Alec turned the ignition off. She limped towards him as fast as she could, relief washing over her.

"Clary, thank god you're alright," Luke pulled her into a hug. As he pushed her arm's length away, he noticed the way she was awkwardly standing on one leg. "What's wrong with your foot?" he asked urgently. "Did you injure it? I can call—"

"I'm fine," Clary assured him. "It's just a sprain."

"Well, let's take you inside," Luke helped Clary up the steps and into the building. He turned to the Lightwood siblings and gave them a stern look. "You need to call Maryse and tell her everything that happened. The Clave needs to inform everyone that Valentine is back."

Clary lowered her eyes and tried to push away the persistent ache in her chest.

"Of course," Alec replied. "We'll tell her as soon as we get back."

"Do you have any gauze?" Jace spoke up. "We should focus on getting Clary's leg wrapped up."

"Right," Luke disappeared into another kitchen, and Jace led Clary over to the living room, easing her onto one of the sofas.

Clary grimaced and sunk deep into the cushions. Hiding her face in her hands, she let out a long, shaky, breath.

"Hey." She felt Jace's hand rub her knee. "It's going to to be alright. We'll fix this, I promise."

Clary squeezed her eyes shut but moved her hands away from her face. "My mom was right. I should have never gotten mixed up with any of this."

Jace's hand quickly slipped away from her leg and Clary realized what she had just said.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that," she sat up straight, opening her eyes to see the three Shadowhunters sitting around her. Isabelle was staring down at her hands and Alec had a stormy, solemn look. She turned to Jace and said desperately, "You guys have been so supportive and kind to me—I could have never asked for better friends."

Jace just gave her a sad, sympathetic look. "No, you're right," he swallowed. "You've been in seemingly more danger ever since you met us. I don't know if it's our fault or not, but we're supposed to be protecting mundanes from the Shadow World, and it doesn't look like we're doing that great of a job."

Clary opened her mouth to protest, but Jace continued. "I think you should stay with your family for some time," he said. "Your training can wait. Your safety is more important than you becoming a Shadowhunter."

At that moment, Luke came in with a roll of gauze. "Do you want something to eat?" he knelt down in front of her and started wrapping the cloth around her ankle tightly.

"No, I'm okay," Clary replied quietly, still staring at Jace. "I think I just need to get some rest."

"Of course," Luke gestured down the hall. "You can go on ahead to your room."

"Your room?" Isabelle echoed.

"I used to sleep over here a lot when I was little," Clary admitted. "Luke just made one of the rooms in his apartment a bedroom for me."

She turned to Jace and intertwined her fingers in his. "Thank you for coming for me," she smiled. "Again."

Jace just looked at her sadly and nodded.

"Are you guys coming to school tomorrow?" Clary looked over at Isabelle and Alec.

"School…right," Alec groaned.

"We'll be there," Jace smiled and squeezed Clary's hand. "We better head out now." He stood up, followed by his siblings.

"Take care, okay?" he pressed his lips to Clary's forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

**Jace POV**

Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, bid goodbye to Luke and Jace told him to keep an eye out for Clary. The siblings went back inside Alec's car and Alec quickly sped off towards the Institute.

Jace sighed and leaned back into his seat, rolling his tensed shoulders.

"Mom's gonna freak when she hears what happened today," Isabelle said.

"I know," Alec merged onto the highway. He gave a sidelong glance at Jace. "If Valentine really is back...we have more problems at hand."

"Yeah," Isabelle piped up. "How do you think he found Clary?"

"That's what I was wondering, too," Jace said, turning towards her. "Jocelyn made Magnus go to great lengths to protect Clary and hide her location. Valentine definitely didn't use magic to find her."

"So you're saying...someone _told_ Valentine were the Frays were?" Isabelle asked. "Like, someone betrayed them?"

Jace nodded. "I think so."

"Who would do that?"

"Anyone, really."

"Well, who knows the Frays well?"

"Luke, Magnus, Simon and his family—"

"No, there's no way Simon would betray his best friend."

"Izzy, just because you're dating Simon doesn't mean that he's a good guy."

"He wouldn't! And besides, he doesn't even know the Shadow World exists."

"Maybe, but he's not coming off the list."

"What about people at Clary's school? Is anyone close to her there?" Alec spoke up. "I mean, no offense," he continued, "but does she even have any friends?"

"Alec!" Isabelle scolded him.

"What? I only see her hanging out with Simon."

"Whatever, we'll figure it out later," Jace said. They were nearing the Institute now.

"Oh, and Alec?" Isabelle asked. "Where were you all afternoon? You never came home after we left school today."

"I, uh...was out," Alec replied, clearing his throat.

"Out where?" Jace raised his eyebrows. "You came pretty fast when we called you at Clary's house...which means you were probably in Brooklyn, and not in Manhattan."

"Just drop it," Alec said hotly.

Isabelle and Jace shared a look and Alec grumbled as he pulled up into the Institute driveway.

* * *

**Clary POV**

The next morning, Clary was already awake before 6:00, feeling way more tired than usual. She hadn't slept a wink last night, but instead kept tossing and turning and worrying about her mom. So she just opted to get up the minute she saw the trickle of orange light on the horizon.

A knock sounded on her door and Luke popped his head into the room.

"Hey," he greeted. "I heard you getting up. How'd you sleep?"

"Good," Clary lied with a smile. "God, I'm starving."

"I can imagine," Luke nodded. "Breakfast's downstairs when you're ready." He was about to leave when his eyes fell on Clary's ankle.

"Oh, how's your foot?"

Clary grimaced and glanced down. When she got out of bed earlier, she had spent a few minutes to carefully place her weight on her ankle to test out how it was doing. She was able to stand only for a few seconds until the throbbing pain shot up through her leg again.

"Do you need a pair of crutches?" Luke continued.

"Yeah I think so," Clary said, making her way to the door slowly.

"I'm pretty sure I have a pair in the back," Luke stepped aside so Clary could exit the room. "Once you're ready to go, we'll stop by your apartment to pick up your things."

"Sounds great," Clary sighed and hobbled into the kitchen, where a steaming plate of pancakes sat, waiting for her.

* * *

At school, Clary walked in with her crutches, earning a few glances from other students. She went over to her locker and started emptying out her bag.

"Clary!" a voice called out. She turned to find Simon running up to her with a concerned look on his face.

"Whoa, what happened?! Why are you on crutches?"

"Hey Simon," Clary smiled. "I...um...missed a step on the stairs."

"Oh," Simon said sympathetically. "That sucks, I'm sorry."

"It's just a light sprain," Clary shut her locker door. "I'll be fine."

At that moment, Clary spotted Jace, Alec, Isabelle coming towards them over Simon's shoulder.

"Oh hey," Clary nodded to the three siblings. "The Lightwoods are here."

Simon turned and chuckled. "They certainly make an entrance, don't they?"

Clary murmured in agreement. The Lightwoods walked like kings and queens, heads turning as they came down the hall. Jace was in the center, a hand pushing his golden locks out of his face while his piercing eyes landed on Clary and Simon. Isabelle was on his right, looking more gorgeous than she was already in a white dress, leather jacket, and combat boots. Alec's chiseled face gave off a devious smirk that was clearly directed at all the students staring at them.

The siblings reached Simon and Clary, Simon came forward to take Isabelle's hand while whispering something in her ear. _Probably one of his geeky pickup lines_, Clary thought with a grin.

Jace stepped next to Clary, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Clary smiled back and grasped his hand.

"Oh no, Clary," a teacher who was passing by stopped and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry to see you all bandaged up."

"It was just a minor accident, Mrs. Branson," Clary smiled at her history teacher, whose class she had with Isabelle and Simon.

"She twisted her ankle while trying out one of my heels," Isabelle said with a fake laugh. "It's my motto—nothing less than seven inches!"

"I thought you tripped on the stairs," Simon said quietly, frowning.

"I _did_...trip on the stairs," Clary said slowly, "...while wearing Isabelle's heels." She turned and glared at Isabelle, who gave Clary an apologetic smile.

"Uh-huh..." Simon heaved his backpack up on his shoulders, obviously not buying it. Clary bit her lip and turned back to Mrs. Branson.

"Well, I've seen my fair share of your shoes, Isabelle. And now I completely understand why Clary fell," Mrs. Branson chuckled. "See you three in fourth period. Take care Clary."

"Have fun keeping your secrets and whatever else it is you're hiding from me," Simon said cynically. He left the group and followed Mrs. Branson down the hallway, asking her about the homework.

Clary sighed. "Thank you for that, Izzy."

"I'm sorry!" Isabelle exclaimed. "I had no idea that you had already told Simon why you hurt your ankle."

"This is why I think we should tell Simon about...you know, the Shadow World and everything," Clary turned to Jace and Alec.

"No, absolutely not," Jace shook his head. "He'll be in a lot of unnecessary danger."

"I can't just keep lying to him to everyday," Clary protested.

"It's for his own good," Alec assured her.

Clary nodded absentmindedly and stared at Simon's retreating figure, biting her nails anxiously.

* * *

Later in the day, Clary was in the library, staring at the clock. It was her last period, and instead of going to the Gym, the coach had sent her to the library since she couldn't participate in the day's activities due to her ankle. Clary didn't mind, though. She'd much rather do her homework in the library instead of dying of exhaustion in Gym.

Clary's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she carefully took it out. A message from Jace showed, saying, _Stay in the library, I'll meet you there after school. _She smiled and slipped the phone back into her pocket after replying.

As she continued on with her homework, the bell rang and all the other students who were inside the library started packing up and leaving. Clary also started putting her things away in her bag, when she heard Jace's voice calling her name. She looked up to see him walking towards her.

"Hey," she smiled. "I was just packing up."

"Here let me help you," Jace took some of the books that were on the table and placed them in the to-be-shelved cart.

"Kids?" The librarian's voice rang out from the front desk. "I have a staff meeting that I got to run to. Once you're done, can you show yourselves out? I'll leave the door locked, so you can just go on and leave."

"Sure thing," Jace nodded and the librarian smiled graciously before leaving. Now it was just Jace and Clary in the big room.

As Clary finished packing and she zipped up her backpack, she looked over to her left, where she had left her crutches propped up against the table. Which would have been the case, except for the fact that her crutches weren't there.

"That's weird," Clary frowned.

"What's wrong?" Jace came up next to her.

"I swear I left my crutches right here," Clary pointed.

Jace got on his knees and stole a glance down under the table. "It's not here either," he announced.

"Looking for these?" a voice asked.

Clary whirled around and saw Kaelie standing behind her, holding her crutches, her lips twisted in a smirk.

"Oh...yeah, thanks Kaelie," Clary laughed weakly, a little flustered at how the girl had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She took the crutches from the blonde and placed her arms over them.

Jace cleared his throat behind her and Clary suddenly remembered that he was standing next to her.

"Oh, Kaelie this is Jace. Jace, this is—"

"No need to introduce us," Jace said, his voice strained with quiet rage. "We've met." He took Clary's arm and held it tightly, as if he was trying to pull her away from Kaelie.

"Oh..." Clary gave a questioning look Jace and back at Kaelie.

"Yes, we have," Kaelie's eyes shone devilishly. "So Clary, I heard you got invited to go to Paris for the student exchange program."

"You did?" Clary said suspiciously. "I didn't exactly tell everyone about it."

"I mean...I heard from someone that you were one of the 20 students who got to go," Kaelie stammered.

"Oh..." Clary nodded slowly, still not entirely sure if she believed the girl.

"Uh-huh," Kaelie continued. "So, I just, like, wanted to know if you were going or not. To Paris, I mean."

"Yeah..." Clary exhaled. "I don't really know yet. I doubt I'll be going, though."

"What do you mean?" Kaelie looked flustered. "You have to go!"

"I don't have to—"

"It's _Paris_! Why would _not_ want to go?!" Kaelie protested.

"I just...I have a lot going on right now, so I don't know if I'll be able to go," Clary replied.

"Oh, right, I heard..." Kaelie stared at her nails innocently. "You got a little visit from Daddy Morgenstern last night, didn't you?" Jace immediately stepped forward, trying to push Clary behind him.

Every inch of color drained from Clary's face. "What did you say?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "How do you know about that?"

Jace's hands balled into fists and he snarled, "Get lost before you regret it."

"Now, now Herondale," Kaelie grinned. "Wouldn't want to start a war between us and the Nephilim would you?"

"Jace, what is going on?!" Clary's tone was frantic now.

"Your friend here isn't being very honest about who she really is."

"What do you mean?" Clary looked back at Kaelie. "What is he talking about?"

"She's a pixie," Jace said in disgust. "One of the Fair Folk."

"_What?!_" Clary's jaw dropped. "You're _Fae_?" She looked Kaelie up and down, suddenly noticing that her ears seemed a little too pointy at the tips, and that her blond hair had a greenish tint to it.

"Oh my god...This is insane...You kept this a secret from me for almost three years!" She shook her head in bewilderment. "Wait a second, did you know who I was when you introduced yourself to me freshman year? Is that why you became friends with me in the first place?"

Kaelie placed her hands on her hips and shrugged. "Maybe."

"I can't believe you!" Clary scoffed. "You lied to me for three years, Kaelie. _Three, whole, years_!"

"I'll bet that she was the one who told Valentine where you and your mom had run off to," Jace said coldly. "Valentine didn't know where you and your mom were living, so I'm guessing Kaelie made a deal with him and sought to give him your address."

"No," Clary shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "No, of all the things you've done Kaelie, _please_ tell me that you did not do that. Tell me that you were not the reason my mom was kidnapped."

"I must say...you have accurate guessing skills, Herondale," Kaelie replied.

Clary's heart suddenly filled with rage. "You bitch!" She screamed, her voice ringing loudly throughout the library. She lunged at Kaelie, but Jace held her back fast. "Valentine took my mom, and it's all your fault!"

Kaelie gave a little laugh, and merely ignored Clary's outburst. Jace, who had his arms locked in Clary's, gave Kaelie the scariest look possible.

"I hope you know this is going to the Clave."

"Uh-huh," Kaelie nodded and smiled. She skipped away, humming softly, as she left the library, leaving Jace and Clary alone.

Clary fell limp into Jace's arms, and started sniffling against his shirt.

"I am such an idiot for not realizing what Kaelie wanted from me."

"Hey, hey," Jace pushed Clary at arms length. "Don't beat yourself up. You had no idea who she really was." He smoothed her hair and wiped his thumbs across her wet cheeks. "Kaelie, the Seelie Queen, and Valentine will get what they deserve, and you will get your mom back."

Clary nodded, her tears dry. "Yeah," she squared her shoulders, a new sense of confidence settling down on her. "We will."

* * *

**A/N: Slay, Clary, slay! Ahaha, this was a fun chapter to write. I really do hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter, and are liking the story in general. It's only going to get more intense from here, so get ready!**

**I didn't get as many reviews as usual, so please remember to tell me what you guys thought of each chapter, or the story in general! I read every single review, and I take all of your comments and suggestions to heart, trust me! And frankly, I love reading reviews, so keep them coming, thanks y'all xxx**

**TMIlover-5202: **Hahaa, yeah, you're good at this aren't you :) Thanks for reviewing practically every chapter and being so kind and supportive! Hope you liked this chapter!

**bookgirl18: **It makes me so happy to hear that you're liking this story! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on today's chapter! Thanks for reviewing :)

**Okay then, I'll see you at Chapter 10! We'll see how the Clave is dealing with Valentine's return, Simon and Clary will talk and sort of catch up, Clace, Sizzy, and Malec as always, and lastly we'll also see what Phase 2 of Valentine's plan is :)**

**Hope you're having a good day, and Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates it!**

**~bookwormbullet**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I can't believe it's already 2016 :) 2015 was a really fun year, and I'm sad that it went by so fast, but here's to another fun-filled year! I hope you all had a great holiday season! I couldn't update for the past few weeks because I was on vacation with my family, but I am back home now, so here's Chapter 10.**

**Did anyone watch the first two episodes of Shadowhunters?! It was so fun to watch! Granted, it wasn't like the books, and there were some parts I didn't really like, but I understand the fact that the show runners couldn't keep everything exactly the same from the series. And also, the first few episodes are always the worst ones, so I'm sure things will get better throughout the season. Nevertheless, I have high hopes for the show, and I can't wait to see what else happens! Ahhhhh, so excited XD.**

**Tell me what your thoughts were on the first two episodes!**

**Starting from this chapter and onwards, there's going to be a lot more juicy stuff and action! Keep on reading for all the fun :) I made this chapter a little longer than usual, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Isabelle POV**

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Of course, don't worry about me," Clary smiled at Isabelle before walking up the steps to Luke's apartment with her crutches. She gave the Lightwoods a small wave and disappeared inside.

"Okay," Isabelle turned back to Jace, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Alec's car. "Explain everything. From the beginning."

"Right," Jace pushed his hair out of his face. "So I went to pick Clary up from the library after school, and while we were cleaning up her stuff, Kaelie came up to us."

"You mean the pixie?" Alec's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah," Jace nodded. "She went all 'I know something you don't' and then basically admitted to Clary that she was the one who sent Valentine the address to her apartment, so he could come and kidnap both Jocelyn and her."

Alec groaned while Isabelle quietly raged, having a strong urge to walk up to Kaelie and saying a few not so lady-like words to her face.

"Seriously?" she gritted her teeth. "Can't say I'm surprised. It seems like something the Fae would do."

"This is getting way out of hand," Alec sighed. "The pixie will be charged with evidence of conspiring with the enemy, that's for sure, but it's up to the Clave to decide what to do with her."

"How about sending her to the demon world?" Isabelle suggested sarcastically. "She definitely belongs there."

"I'm pretty sure the Seelie Queen is involved as well," Jace ignored Isabelle and looked at his _parabatai_. "They're planning something—with Valentine. We need to figure out what." He paused, thinking for a minute.

"You really think so?" Alec asked.

"I know so," Jace said. "The Seelie Queen has always hated the Nephilim. She'd take any chance to destroy us. Siding with Valentine is the perfect opportunity."

Isabelle anxiously fidgeted in her seat. Never in her life had she every experienced something like this before. Sure, there was hunting demons, and her parent's separation, but this...this was the real deal.

"Wait a second," Jace spoke up. "Today, when Clary and I were talking with Kaelie, she kept asking Clary about her trip to France—if she was going or not..." he trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle asked.

"Something wasn't right," Jace continued. "She seemed like she really wanted Clary to go to France. Why would Kaelie want that?"

"Unless..." Alec looked at Jace. "Something's waiting for Clary in France."

"Something, or _someone_?" Jace said, clearing hinting the obvious. "Like Valentine?"

"That doesn't make sense," Isabelle shook her head. "Valentine knows that Clary's in Brooklyn, he can just come here to get her."

"True," Jace's shoulders sagged.

"Let's just get all this to Mom, she'll know what to do," Isabelle leaned back in her seat.

* * *

**Clary POV**

Clary closed the front door behind her as she stepped into Luke's apartment. She adjusted her crutches and managed to pull her sneakers off without falling.

"Luke?" she called out, peeking into the living room.

"Clary? Hey!" Luke appeared from his bedroom, with a smile. "How was school?"

Clary paused, unsure whether she should tell Luke about the incident with Kaelie. "Um...I need to tell you something."

Luke sensed Clary's somber tone and immediately stiffened. "What happened?"

Clary sighed and told him everything that had occurred in the library with Jace and Kaelie. When she finished, Luke inhaled sharply and turned around, striding into the kitchen.

"Luke?" Clary called out hesitantly, following him. "What's wrong?"

Luke came out of the kitchen, cellphone in hand. "I'm going to call Alaric."

"What for?"

"For extra protection. You were at school with someone who had been conspiring with Valentine, Clary. You could have easily gotten hurt. You're not safe here in New York."

"What's Alaric going to do?" The last time Clary had met Alaric, it had been during summer break, when she went to visit Luke at work. Alaric was a tall man with long gray hair. He was muscular, yes, but he was also..._old_.

"Alaric's a werewolf," Luke said sheepishly. "Just like the rest of the guys from work."

"Oh..." Clary said, a little taken aback. "Right, of course."

As Luke dialed Alaric's number, he asked if Jace was going home to tell Maryse about Kaelie.

"I think so," Clary nodded.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Luke rubbed her back. "I don't think you've done much of that this week."

"Yeah," Clary said, thankful that it was Friday and that the weekend was here. She pulled her backpack from her shoulder and hobbled into her room, propping her crutches against the wall and sitting down on her bed. She glanced over at her nightstand, where a photo of her and Simon posing at a carnival last year sat framed.

_Simon..._she suddenly remembered. _I haven't talked to him since this morning._ She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Simon's number, silently hoping he'd pick up and not ignore her.

Thankfully, after a few rings, the line connected and Simon's voice spoke up from the speaker.

"What do you want?"

Clary cringed at his harshness. "Hey...I just wanted to check in with you. Say hi."

"I'm doing fine."

"Well, we haven't exactly talked in a while..."

"We talked this morning."

"No, I mean, like, _talked_ _talked_. You know...to catch up with each other and stuff."

"Oh...okay...so what do you want to talk about?"

"What have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing much."

"Okay," Clary said, cringing even harder at how awkward the conversation was becoming. "Um...how are you and Isabelle?"

"Do you really want to talk about that?" Simon coughed.

"Well, do you need any...I don't know, girl advice?" Clary asked slowly.

"Wow, you really wanna go there, huh?" Simon sighed. "Okay, go ahead. What advice do you want to give me?"

"Um...well, Isabelle's a girly girl, but she also has her badass moments, so you need to remember that she can take care of herself."

"Oh, don't worry, I don't doubt that."

"She also really likes clothes...and shoes—heels in particular. Her favorite color's red, or maybe black—"

"Clary, I already know all this."

"...Right," Clary nodded.

"But, maybe you can help me with one thing," Simon said. "I'm not sure, but it seems as if Isabelle doesn't want me to go to her house and visit her family."

Clary swallowed hard as Simon continued.

"I mean, she's been to my house a couple of times, but whenever I bring up going to her house, she always rejects the idea."

"Oh," was all Clary could say. How was she supposed to explain why Isabelle didn't want Simon to come over to the Institute? "I'm sure she'll let you come over one day—maybe she's not comfortable or something..."

"Yeah, I guess...Has Jace ever let you come over?"

"Simon—"

"Speaking of which, you've suddenly been spending a lot of time with the Lightwoods lately," Simon said. "Is there, like, something going on between you guys that I should know about?"

"No, there isn't," Clary said, hoping she sounded believable.

"Because it would explain why you and Isabelle were making up all that stuff about your sprained ankle, and why you're always hanging out with them even though you met them like a month ago..."

"It's nothing, Simon," Clary assured him.

"I know you're hiding something, Clary. I've known you for so many years, I know when something's up."

Clary kept quiet, desperately trying to come up with an excuse of some sort.

"Why don't you want to tell me what's going on?"

"Of course I want to tell you," Clary protested, standing up from her bed and leaning against the chair for support. "It's just—I can't. It's not in my place." She quickly added, "But I promise you, it's nothing bad, okay? I'm fine—the Lightwoods are fine, we just have some stuff to sort out...Do you trust me?"

After a long pause, Simon reluctantly said, "Yeah...okay."

"Thank you," Clary sat back down on her mattress and said after a while, "You know, I never realized that you'd like someone like Isabelle."

"What does that mean?"

"Well...I mean, you never seemingly showed any interest in someone that was...I don't know...like _her_."

"Are you saying that I'm out of her league?"

"No! No! Of course not," Clary immediately cut in. "Just...forget about what I said." She changed the subject and asked, "So did you guys DTR?"

"DTR?"

"Define the relationship?"

"Oh...um, I don't know."

"Simon! You need to DTR."

"What does that even mean?"

"Like are you guys exclusively dating? Or are sort of like a friends with benefits—"

"How am I supposed to know?!"

"You need to talk to her about it," Clary shook her head while grinning. "Isabelle may think of you as a fling, or something, but you might think of her as your girlfriend, and it'll become all awkward and stuff—"

"Okay, okay, fine," Simon interrupted. He paused, and Clary took the moment to lie down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm not going to lie," Simon started. "This is kinda weird, me getting relationship advice from the girl I was in love with for so many years."

Clary's breath caught in her throat. "Did you really like me like that for so long?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did," Simon's voice was scratchy.

"You should have told me," Clary covered her eyes with her hand. "It would have saved you all the pain you had suffer."

"Would you have dated me though?" Simon asked.

Clary bit her lip, knowing that she probably wouldn't have. She had always seen Simon as her best friend—the brother she never had.

"Simon—"

"Don't, Clary."

"I'm really sorry, Simon. For everything. You know I love you, right? Just not in...that...way."

"Yeah, I know."

"Promise me that nothing will ever get in between us?" Clary asked.

"Promise," Simon replied.

"Okay," Clary glanced over at the clock beside her. "I should probably go."

"Yeah, me too."

"Bye Simon, I'll see you...later, I guess."

"Bye Clary. Say hi to your mom for me."

Clary's heart dropped and she scrunched her eyes shut at his comment. "Yeah...I will." The line disconnected, and she dropped the phone on the mattress beside her.

She turned to her side, and stared at the walls of the bedroom, where there were more photos hung up on the wall. There was one with her, Luke, Simon, and her mom, when they had gone to Central Park for a picnic. Clary continued staring at the photo, particularly at her mom, and yelled at herself mentally for taking her time with her Jocelyn for granted.

"I love you Mom," she closed her eyes and whispered. "I hope you're safe." She took a deep breath, and suddenly all the events from the day found her exhausted.

_Maybe I'll just lie here for a few more minutes,_ she thought and nestled her head against the pillows.

* * *

_Clary was standing in front of her apartment, bundled up from head to toe in warm clothes. It was snowing lightly, but temperature was still freezing. She shivered and hugged herself, exhaling a frosty breath. Looking up and down the street, Clary sighed when she saw that no one was around. Then, as she was about to head back inside, she heard footsteps crunch in the snow behind her. _

_Turning around, Clary saw her mom standing on the sidewalk, wearing nothing but a pale pink nightgown. Her feet and arms were bare, and the odd thing was that she didn't seem to be cold at all._

_"Mom?" Clary breathed, and stared at the figure as if she was seeing a ghost. _

_"Hello, Clary," Jocelyn smiled warmly. She opened her arms wide, and Clary crashed into her, embracing her tightly._

_"What are you doing here?" Clary asked as she pulled away from her mom.  
_

_"Why, I came to see you of course," Jocelyn said matter-of-factly._

_"But you were gone," Clary frowned. "Valentine kidnapped you."_

_"I found my way back to you," Jocelyn put her arm around Clary's shoulder. "Come, we have much to talk about."_

_"Wait, no," Clary shrugged Jocelyn's arm off. "You were _kidnapped_, Mom. You disappeared. And now you're suddenly back and acting as if everything's fine."_

_"Because it is," Jocelyn said happily. "Everything _is_ fine now, Clary. Stop worrying."_

_Clary nodded, but she didn't feel entirely convinced._

_"Alright, now that I've finally returned," Jocelyn led Clary down the sidewalk, "let's go spend some time together. I hear that Central Park is looking especially beautiful this season."_

_"Mom, don't you want to wear something warm_—_" Clary started but suddenly a strong gust of wind blew into her face. Clary blinked in surprise and stared at the scene in front of her._

_She was standing in Central Park, now a white wonderland. The snow was about a foot high, and new, fresh snow was still falling. The trees were bare and the moonlight was faint. Clary's mouth fell open and she whirled around, taking a full circle._

_"H_—_how'd we get here so fast? We were just..." she trailed off, and looked over at her mother, who was watching the snow fall absentmindedly._

_"There. We must go there," Jocelyn pointed ahead of her, and started walking. Clary hurried to catch up with her, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to keep warm._

_"Where are we going?" Clary asked. _

_"Here we are," Jocelyn asked, stepping into a clearing. There was a large pond in front of them, the waves glistening with the reflection moon._

_"Turtle Pond?" Clary raised her eyebrows. "What are we doing here?"_

_"Turn around."_

_Clary hesitantly followed her instructions._

_"Now walk backwards," Jocelyn gestured to the pond._

_"Huh?"_

_"Go, Clary. Inside."_

_"Inside the pond? What are you talking about?"_

_"You'll find your answers there. Everything that you've been wondering, about the Shadow World, about my past, about the life you never had, lies in that pond."_

_Jocelyn shoved Clary backwards, and Clary screamed, flailing her arms to keep her balance. With a big splash, she fell into the pond and trashed around, trying to find her way back to the surface. But for the some reason, the water seemed to be a black abyss, and Clary couldn't find her way up. Eventually, the lack of oxygen took a toll on her, and Clary's eyes felt heavy. She closed them, and welcomed in the darkness into her body._

* * *

Clary woke up with a start, gasping for air. She whipped her head to her right and left, feet twisted in the covers, and sighed in relief when she realized that she was safe in her room, not in the murky depths of the Turtle Pond.

_What the hell just happened? _she thought, panting heavily. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, only a couple of hours had passed since she had fallen asleep.

"Clary?" the door to her bedroom opened, and Luke stepped in. "Hey, do you want something to eat?"

"I had a dream," she blurted out instead.

"A dream?" Luke frowned, and stepped further into the room. "What happened?"

"I saw my mom," Clary swallowed. "She was there, standing in front of our apartment, as if she hadn't gotten kidnapped. And then some weird things happened."

"What things?"

"S—she took me to Central Park, and shoved me into Turtle Pond..." Clary was trying to figure the entire thing herself out as well. "She kept telling me that I would find the answers that I was looking for there."

"Wait, did you say Turtle Pond?"

"Yeah?"

Luke's face paled. "We need to get to the Institute, now."

"What? Why?"

"Just come," Luke grabbed Clary's crutches and handed them to her, hurrying out of the room. "I think your dream will provide some very useful information to Maryse that will help the Clave find Valentine."

"How? Because of what's in Turtle Pond?" Clary hurriedly pulled on her sneakers and jacket before following Luke.

"Yes. No. Maybe, I don't know. We'll see what the Council has to say." Luke threw open the front door and ushered Clary outside.

* * *

**Jace POV**

Isabelle, Alec, and Jace clambered up the front steps of the Institute and opened the door. Max immediately came running to them, holding up a comic book.

"Look what came in the mail!" he declared happily, waving the object in the air.

"That's great, Max!" Isabelle smiled. Jace always marveled at the way Isabelle was good with kids. Even if she was dead tired, or extremely upset, she never let it show when talking to a child. Especially when she was with Max.

"Have you seen your mom?" Jace asked ruffling the boy's hair, which he immediately patted back into place.

"She's in the library," Max's nose crinkled. "There are a bunch of people in there, too."

The teens shared a look. "Members of the Enclave?" Alec thought out loud.

"Maybe," Jace shrugged.

Isabelle turned to Max and gave him a smile. "Max, go on to your room, okay? We'll come to you in a bit."

Max grumbled something under his breath and walked away from the group. Jace led Isabelle and Alec up the stairs, heading to the library. He pushed the two doors open and frowned when he saw the group of people inside.

It was, in fact, the Enclave. A long conference table had been set up in the library, and it was covered in papers and official documents. At the head of the table was Maryse and next to her were the Enclave delegates from Los Angeles and Lisbon, Andrew Blackthorn, and Senhor and Senhora Monteverde. But perhaps the most surprising people present were Robert Lightwood, standing next to Consul Jia Penhallow.

Maryse's head lifted up to meet the teens and her face immediately hardened. "Oh, you're all home already."

Isabelle eyes, however were glued to their father, who the Lightwoods hadn't seen since he had left for Idris to take on the position of Inquisitor, an event that had left all the Lightwoods in an uneasy and troubled wake.

"What's going on here?" Jace dared to ask. "Why is the Council meeting in New York instead of Idris?" As far as he knew, the Council only met when there were extreme situations among the Shadow World.

"You are not supposed to be in here—" Senhor Monteverde barked at the three kids.

"Is this about Valentine?" Alec cut in. "Has the Clave received any new information on his whereabouts?"

Jace took a good look around the room, and his eyes fell on a gleaming sword sitting at the center of the table. "Is that the Mortal Sword?!" he gaped at it in disbelief. "Why the hell is that in here?"

"Mom?" A small voice peeped out from behind the three teens. Jace and Alec stepped aside to reveal Max, staring at the scene in front of him with big eyes. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Max?" Alec hissed. "What are you doing here? We told you to go to your room!"

"Oh, for goodness sakes, Maryse," Andrew Blackthorn rolled his eyes. "Get your children out of here."

"Max," Alec said gently. "Please, just go to your room."

Max gave his older brother a long stare before sighing in defeat. "Fine." He turned and padded out of the library, shoulders slouched.

"That means you, too," Andrew gave Jace, Isabelle, and Alec a look.

"Wait," Jace said desperately. "We have some information concerning Valentine that'll be useful in your search."

"Just a moment, Andrew," the Consul spoke and gave Jace a hesitant look. "What information did you find?"

"The Fae are conspiring with Valentine," Jace said.

"What?" Maryse stood up from her seat, and the Enclave members gave sounds of surprise as well.

"Where did you hear this?" The Consul demanded.

"There was a pixie that went to St. Xavier's disguised as a human," Jace began.

"St. Xavier's?" Senhora Monteverde echoed. "What is that?"

"It's the mundane school that Clarissa Fairchild goes to," Jace replied. "And that we go to also."

"You sent your kids to a mundane school?" The Consul gave Maryse an exasperated look.

"They went to keep an eye on Jocelyn's daughter

," Maryse reasoned. "We needed to make sure she wasn't communicating with Valentine."

"Was she?" Robert looked at Jace. "Communicating with Valentine?"

"No," he immediately said. "She didn't, we're sure of it."

"You can't be sure about anything," Robert said haughtily. "She could be lying to all of our faces."

Jace felt Isabelle stiffen beside him. "She isn't lying," he said furiously. "Clary had never met Valentine before this week—she had no idea he was her dad. She wouldn't have—couldn't have—lied to us...I know her."

"Do you now?" Robert folded his arms across his chest. "I must say Johnathan, you've only known Clary for, what...like a month?"

"Enough!" The Consul intervened. She turned to the kids and gave them a stern glare. "What did you find out about the pixie?"

Jace swallowed his rage back down and continued. "A pixie named Kaelie Whitewillow went to St. Xavier's and became friends with Clary freshman year. She pretended to be human so that she could earn Clary's trust. Just yesterday, she revealed to Clary and I that she was the one who gave Valentine Clary's address, so he could go visit her."

"After all that work we put into the Accords," Andrew Blackthorn fumed, "this is how the Seelies pay us..."

"Hold on a minute, that doesn't make any sense," Robert spoke up. "Why would the pixie reveal any of that information to you? Either she didn't tell you the truth, or this never even happened and you're making this all up."

"We aren't making this up!" Isabelle roared.

Jace turned to her, surprised. It was the first word she'd spoken since they had walked in the library. He knew that out of all the Lightwoods, Isabelle had been hurt the most when Robert had hurriedly left for Idris after becoming Inquisitor. Jace wasn't quite sure what exactly had driven Maryse and Robert away from each other—it obviously wasn't any of his business—but whatever it was, Isabelle had hated Robert for it.

"I can't believe you would assume that, especially from the boy you took in as one of your own," Isabelle shook her head bitterly. "Maybe if you actually took the time to care about your family, you'd never would have had that thought." She glared at her father and spun around, storming out of the library.

"Isabelle!" Maryse gasped at her outburst.

"I'll go talk to her," Robert said, making his way to the door, but Alec stopped him.

"Don't," he put his hand out. "Just let her be alone for a while."

"I'm sorry, Jia, for the interruption," Maryse apologized uncomfortably.

"No, no," Jia gave her a strained smile. "Let's come back to the matter at hand, shall we?" She cleared her throat. "Are you positive that the pixie is working with Valentine?"

"Absolutely," Jace nodded.

"And is it just the pixie? Or is the Seelie Queen involved, too?"

"I assume she is," Jace said. "Who else would send Kaelie to St. Xavier's?"

"Oh, great," Andrew sank back down into his seat.

"What do you suppose we do now, Consul?" Senhor Monteverde asked.

"We need to inform the rest of the Clave that this is now a bigger situation than it was before," Jia said. "If the Seelies really are conspiring with Valentine, than we are all in trouble."

* * *

**Clary POV**

Luke helped Clary walk up to the front steps of the Institute. She readjusted herself and glanced up at the tall, daunting double oak doors.

"Um, how are we supposed to open these? I don't exactly see a doorbell anywhere..."

"Okay, here's what you have to do," Luke took one of Clary's crutches from her so that her hand was free. "Place your hand on the door and call to Angel Raziel to grant you entrance to the Institute."

"Shouldn't you just do it?" Clary asked, feeling wary of the ordeal.

"No, I'm not a full Shadowhunter anymore," Luke's expression sobered. "I have a mix of werewolf blood and Shadowhunter blood, so the phrase won't work for me."

"Oh," Clary turned back to the door. She pressed her hand against the wood and immediately she felt power and warmth surging up through her arms. She murmured the words, half expecting it not to work.

Suddenly, she heard a long groan and the doors started moving inward slowly. She grinned at Luke, taking back her crutch, and went inside. The foyer was empty, and the silence suggested to Clary that no one was around. As she walked forward, she heard rising voices coming from upstairs. She gestured to Luke to follow her up the grand staircase, and once they were up there, she saw the doors of the Library propped open.

Luke went ahead, barging into the library with Clary timidly following. He stopped short when he saw the number of people inside, and Clary took that as a guess that there usually wasn't this many people in the Institute.

Inside, there was a long table with several people Clary didn't recognize sitting around. The only person that she knew was Maryse, who was in a heated discussion with an Asian woman with short black hair. Looking to her right, Clary also saw Jace and Alec conversing silently with each other.

"Ahem," Luke cleared his throat, and Maryse was the first one to notice. Her eyes flickered over to Luke and Clary, and she stopped her argument abruptly.

"Lucian?" Her eyebrows rose. The rest of the room became silent, and Clary looked over at Jace, who gave her an incredulous look.

"Clary, what are you doing here?" He came forward and stood next to her.

"Hi," Luke gave curt nod to the Enclave members. "Wow...Jia, Robert—I haven't seen you two in a long time. Is something wrong? I didn't expect you to come all the way to New York."

The Asian woman's—Jia's—expression was terrifying. "We were just having a small meeting," she gave him a one-over, "It's good to see you doing well. "

"Likewise," Luke said. "Listen, I brought Clary here because she had something to share with you, and I'm glad that you and Robert are here to hear it." He looked at Clary who turned to Jia.

"I think I know where I can get answers to find my Mom," she said. "And Valentine."

"Where?" Alec asked.

"I had a dream today," she turned to him. "I saw my mom, and she told me to go to Turtle Pond, in Central Park. She said that I'd find answers there." She looked at the doubtful expressions on the Shadowhunters around her.

"I know it sounds silly, but I think that I have to listen to her," Clary added hurriedly. "I have to go Turtle Pond."

"This just proves what Alec and I were saying before," Jace turned to Jia. "The Seelies know were Valentine and Jocelyn are."

"What are you talking about?" Clary caught onto Jace's sleeve.

"If you walk backwards into the reflection of the moon in Turtle Pond," Jace explained. "It'll take you to the Seelie Court."

"That's what happened in my dream," Clary recalled. "My mom shoved me into the pond."

"So it's settled then," Jace looked back at Jia. "I can go with Alec to visit the Seelie Queen and get answers."

"You will do no such thing," Jia said at the same time a burly man Luke called Robert said, "Hold on a minute."

"We can't listen to whatever this little girl says," Robert sputtered. "She hasn't gone through trial in the Mortal Sword yet, in case any of you have forgotten." He looked at Luke, "And neither have you."

"My name is not 'little girl'," Clary said indignantly. She was already beginning to hate this man. "And you have ever reason to trust Luke and I."

"I think that we can trust what she's saying, Robert," Maryse said. "We don't need to put her in more pain than she's already been through."

"I don't know Maryse," Jia said. "Valentine visited her in her bedroom. He could have easily fed her a bunch of lies about the Seelies and then used a warlock to make her forget that he gave her that false information."

"You can't be serious," Jace gave Jia an astonished look. "The Mortal Sword could kill her—she's never used it before."

At the words 'Mortal Sword,' Clary was compelled to look at the table, where a shining sword was laid. She looked back at the people around her, who were all arguing again. In an impulse, Clary walked forward, placing her crutches on the ground, and took the Sword in her hands.

Immediately, an agonizing feel went through Clary's body. She gasped at the weight—it felt like she was carrying a million pounds—and almost collapsed holding it.

"Clary, no!" Jace yelled, but it was too late. The Sword was in her hands, and it took all of Clary's willpower to look at Robert with an irritated glare.

"Happy?" she told him.

"By the Angel," Jia came forward, placing her hand on Clary's shoulder. "You're awfully brave to have done that."

"Ask me anything," Clary gritted her teeth. "I can't lie now, can I?"

"No, you can't," Jia took a step back. "What is your name?"

"C—Clarissa Fray," Clary said painfully. The sword seemed to be pulling the information out of her with tiny little hooks, and it was an odd sensation.

"Who is your mother?"

"Jocelyn...Fray," She managed to say.

"And your father?"

"Valentine Morgenstern," Clary gritted her teeth. Her arms felt heavy and the room was spinning.

"Don't fight the Sword, Clary. Just let the truth come out, you'll feel less pain," Jia said gently. "Did you know that your father was Valentine before you were introduced to the Shadow World?" Jia asked carefully.

"No. I grew up thinking that my dad had died before I was born. My mom never told me who my dad was before I found out about the Shadow World." Suddenly the words started spilling out of her mouth, and Clary felt more at ease.

"Did your mother ever contact Valentine when you were young?"

"I don't think so. Like everyone else, she thought that Valentine was dead, but knowing him better than anyone else, she still had her doubts."

"What do you know about Valentine Morgenstern?"

"I know that he used to be a Shadowhunter. He formed the Circle, which my mom was a part of," Clary saw Robert, Luke, and Maryse's expressions turn dark, "and he tried to change the ways of the Clave and get rid of the Downworlders, killing many people in the process," Jace's eyes cast down to the floor when she said this, "He was a bad man."

Jia pressed her lips together tightly. "Did you know about the Shadow World before this month?"

"No, I had no idea that this world even existed." Clary felt tired—so tired.

"Did Valentine Morgenstern visit you in your bedroom last night?"

"Yes, he told me that he wanted me and my mom to go with him, somewhere, I don't know. I ran from him and he ordered one of his men—Pangborn—to take my mom through a Portal," she winced at the memory.

"Consul," Jace gave Jia a warning look to change the subject.

"Alright," Jia nodded in understanding. "Do you know where the Portal was going?"

"No." She needed to sit down, but kept her feet planted to the floor.

"And what about the pixie in your school? What did she tell you?"

"I was friends with Kaelie since freshman year. She was one of the more popular kids in school, but she was always nice to me. Now I realize that it was because she was just trying to get close to me. She told me today that she was the one who gave Valentine my address, and she didn't seem fazed at all when Jace told her that she was going to get punished by the Clave for revealing that information."

"I see," Jia nodded solemnly. "And this dream that you had with your mom...what happened?"

"I saw my mom in front of my apartment. She was acting as if she never had gotten kidnapped. She took me to Central Park and pushed me into Turtle Pond after telling me that I would find the truth about my past."

"Okay...Are you in league with the Valentine Morgenstern?"

"No, I'm not." Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Jia's eyes looked over at Luke. "How long have you known Luke?"

"As long as I can remember. My mom introduced me to him when I was young, saying that they were good friends. He's been helping me and my mom out for my entire life."

"Do you have any reason to believe that he may be working with Valentine?"

"No, I don't." _When will this interrogation be over?_

"Do you know where Valentine or your mom may be?"

"I don't." She felt like falling to the floor right then and there.

"Will you turn your back against us Nephilim?"

"No, of course not."

"Very well," Jia gave her a smile. She came forward and lifted the Sword out of Clary's hands and back onto the table. The moment the Sword was removed from her hands, Clary gasped out loud, and slumped down, throwing her arm out against the table to steady herself. Jace rushed forward, and placed his arm around her, helping her stay upright.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Clary nodded.

"I can't believe you did that," he said with a laugh. "That was completely stupid, but also really cool."

Clary gave him a breathless smile and looked up at Jia, who gave a grateful nod.

"Thank you, Clary."

"So does this mean that I can go to the Seelie Court?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Luke began, but Jia interrupted. "We can send a few Shadowhunters with her, just in case," she said. "But I think Clary should be the one to visit the Seelie Queen."

"Awesome," Clary smiled grimly. "It's time to pay Kaelie a visit."

* * *

**A/N: Phew...this chapter was a beast to write. Hopefully you guys all liked it! Next chapter we're heading down to Seelie Court, and obviously some exciting stuff is going to happen there :)**

**And if you guys are wondering what happened to the whole student exchange program to France thing, don't worry, it'll come up again. In fact, it's going to be the most important part of the story, so think that I just put it off or something.**

_Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter! I got **ONE **review last time, and that's just sad...I really want to know what you guys think! _

**How'd you feel about Clary and Simon's talk, the Council meeting, and Clary's trial? Also tell me what you thought of the TV Show! Thanks :)**

**Shoutout to bookaddict223, the ONLY reviewer last chapter (You go girl!):**

**bookaddict223: **Yay, I'm glad you like this story :) Thanks for asking, I write only on weekends, and it takes me a while (like 4-5 weeks) to write a good chapter, especially if I'm lacking inspiration (aka these past few months). But the new TV show has got me pumped, so I'll be updating more regularly from now on. Hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reviewing :)

**As always, remember to FAVORITE/FOLLOW and REVIEW! Thanks everyone and I'll see you with Chapter 11 :)**

**~bookwormbullet**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm sorry I took so long to update; my second semester has been really busy and I didn't really find time to write. But I have school off for a week, so I'm writing as many chapters as I can. **

**We last left off when Clary grabbed the Mortal Sword and Jia put her under trial. Jia also promised Clary that she'd get the chance to visit the Seelie Court, which will be an interesting turn of events. And whenever the Seelie Queen is involved, things don't always turn out good, so Clary may run into some trouble when meeting her :)**

**Also a new character is introduced (three if you count the Seelie Queen and Meliorn), someone who has a special relationship with Jace. And there's some tension between Jace and Clary that I hope you all don't get mad about :/**

**Before I move on, I thought I'd give you guys my review of the last few episodes of the Shadowhunters TV show. If you're not interested, you can skip ahead to read the chapter, but if not, please read the review! It's pretty long, so you can always come back to it after you read the chapter.**

* * *

**My review does include some negative comments, so if you want to read a review of someone having all positive thoughts, you shouldn't read this. I do love the Mortal Instruments, however, and I really want this show to succeed, so don't think that I am completely against the show. I just don't agree with some of the things they have on it. Remember that anything I say below is my personal opinion (which I have every right to express). If something down here offends you or you disagree with me, just calmly and politely tell me. You don't need to blow up and get mad and start an argument, because I'm not looking for any of that. Thanks!**

**If you watch **polandbananasbooks** on YouTube, she gives really good reviews of all the episodes, and a lot of the thoughts down here are similar to her opinions.**

So...huh...I guess it's safe to say that the TV show isn't really going along the course of the book? And I know a lot of people are upset at that, but hey, maybe it's a good thing? I think that because the movie followed the book pretty closely, the show runners chose not to, just so the TV show's not exactly the same as the movie.

As for the last few episodes (3 to 8; I haven't seen 9 yet), I feel as if they're getting better! And I'm so happy that they are. Literally when I watched the first two episodes, I was cringing every five seconds and it was horrible. I mean I'm still cringing at some parts, but I think that the episodes are doing a LOT better.

Here's just a couple of things I'd like to mention:

**\- Clary: **I'm not sure I really like the way Kat is portraying Clary. She's making Clary kinda girly, which isn't what Clary is supposed to be. Cassie made Clary very tomboyish, since she's best friends with Simon. She's very stubborn and sarcastic in the books, and in the show she's constantly batting her eyelashes at Jace (more on that later) and acting like a "damsel in distress" (like when she couldn't draw a nyx rune and had to ask Jace or when she didn't know where to stand at the pentagram at Magnus's place) which I feel like isn't Clary at all. This may not even be Kat's fault, because a lot of Clary's lines are making her seem incapable of doing anything.

Also, who ever designed the costumes also shows more of a feminine Clary than a tomboy. In the books, Clary wears jean shorts and sneakers and hoodies everywhere, and in the show (even before Magnus's party), she's wearing heels and leather jackets and jewelry, and a lot of makeup. On a side note, the amount of mascara and eyeliner Kat wears bugs me; she has really big bright green eyes to begin with, and then the makeup artists but a whole bottle of eyeliner on her lid and mascara on her super long lashes -_- But it every character is different than the characters in the book, so maybe the producers changed everyone's personality on purpose?

And OMFG THAT SCENE WHERE IZZY AND CLARY ARE GETTING READY FOR MAGNUS'S PARTY AND IZZY'S LIKE TO CLARY "You're so lucky to be flat chested, I could never wear that dress without a bra." And I look at Clary, and her cleavage is _literally spilling out of her dress_. UGHHHHH! I just buried my face in my hands.

Also, since when is Clary so good at fighting? In the book, she can barely fight, and in the show, she's already killing demons and vampires and Circle members, and sparring with Alec and I don't know, it's weird.

**\- Jace:** At first, I didn't like the way that Dom was playing Jace. I feel that Jace in the show isn't as funny as he is in the books. Dom's trying to be witty and snarky like Jace in the book, but it's really not working. I think the main reason is that the movie used up most of the funny lines from the book, and the show runners can't up with original, new ones. There was one cringe worthy joke where Jace was like "Abracadabra" when they opened up the tombstone in Episode 2 to get weapons, and another in Episode 7 where Clary was like, "What's the rune for Unlock again?" and then Jace kicks open the door. That was cool. But then he had to go on and say "Open Sesame," which made it ten times worse.

And before he and Clary kissed, he was being WAY TOO SEDUCTIVE with her. I never really saw that in the books at all. In the show, literally in every episode, he's always like touching her skin or whatever and I don't really like it. Like the scene where he tells Clary to draw a Nyx rune. First of all, I don't know why Clary didn't just draw the rune on her hand, there was clearly space there. But then she had to go and reach her hand behind her back and attempt to draw it. And then of course, she can't draw it properly, so she asks Jace to help her. For some reason, the show runners made the scene way more sensual than it needed to be. Lastly, I think that his attempt at an American accent isn't doing him justice. I'd be fine if he talked in his British accent, because he's having a lot of trouble talking in an American accent, and some of his words are sounding weird.

**\- Alec and Simon:** I LOVE THEM BOTH SO MUCH! I think that the actors are doing an excellent job at portraying their characters. And I feel like Alec is so much funnier and witty than Jace. Like **polandbananasbooks** says in her video, Alec and Jace should switch lines. In the books, Alec is so much more brooding and moody, and Jace is constantly throwing funny lines out and being sarcastic. In the TV show, it's basically the opposite.

But I love that scene where Lydia says she's calling the high warlock and Alec is like, "Magnus Bane?" And she's like, "Yeah, do you know him?" And then Alec goes, "Uh...yeah, he's quite magical...he's...uh...good at magic." OMFG I DIED AWWWW :)

For Simon, I love how he's handling this whole "I'VE TURNED INTO A VAMPIRE AHHHH" thing in the show. Alberto Rosende is an amazing actor, probably the best one out of the entire cast. He's awkward, and goofy and everything that Simon is. I seriously can't wait to see how he is as a vampire in Episode 9.

**\- Izzy:** I love Emeraude as Izzy. She's so freaking gorgeous (like Izzy)! I can sometimes hear her Spanish accent slip out accidentally when she's saying her lines, but I think she's doing a good job at playing Izzy. One thing I don't feel good about was that whole thing with Izzy/Meliorn. I didn't like the fact that Izzy had to have sex with Meliorn in order for to him to give her information about the Seelies. Izzy shouldn't have to resort in sex for stuff like this. She's more than capable for getting this information in other, non-promiscuous, ways. It's a bit insulting to women that Izzy lets Meliorn take advantage of her like that. At least they broke up, so hopefully we won't see that anymore in the future.

But I love Isabelle and I love how she sees Lydia as an enemy and is always trying to compete with her. And her clothes are amazing, the costumers did a good job with her wardrobe.

**\- Magnus: **Harry Shum Jr. is doing a great job playing Magnus. I feel like he _is_ Magnus actually. He's doing the whole sassy, snarky, fabulous personality of Magnus so well. And his costumes are great! And all the Malec scenes are AWESOME!

**\- Luke: **I like this new dynamic of Luke being a cop, it adds a new feel to the show, which I love. And I'm all about diversity in the entertainment industry, so I think the producers did a good job of making Luke a person of color.

**\- Valentine: **Valentine is creepy AF in the show omg! I love Alan Van Sprang, particularly because he played King Henry in Reign, and I love me some Reign. He's an excellent actor and he slayed the villainous character of King Henry, so I have no doubt he'll do well in the rest of the season.

**\- Raphael/Camille:** They're all doing pretty good. I like their characters individually and how the actor and actress are portraying them. The vampires as a whole are a little cheesy and over the top. But it's cool, I don't hate them.

**\- Lydia:** I like Lydia's character. I had heard how she was a new character back around June when they were still casting, and I wasn't sure if they'd do a good job. But they did a good job in the last episode, so I'm glad she's here. And I love the fact that she's a Branwell and how she referenced Henry and Magnus and the Portal (omg the memories :D) I'm excited to see Lydia and Alec's "marriage" unfold. I'm assuming he'll tell her that he doesn't actually like her and that she's welcome to date other people and then he'll secretly be with Magnus.

**\- Max:** Max is so adorable! I love how he's so mischievous and I love Alec and Izzy's relationship with him. I'm really scared that they'll kill him off (in the later seasons, if they have one) and I really don't want that to happen :(

**\- Maryse/Robert:** I like how Maryse seems bossy and confident and stern all the time except inside she's really vulnerable and we got to see that a little when Alec found her crying alone. I was a little surprised that Alec and Izzy didn't know that their parents were in the Circle. I mean, that was the whole reason their parents were running the Institute.

And I just realized that Robert and Valentine look so much alike in the show ahaha. They're both bald and have a similar skin tone and a small scruffy beard. But that's okay, I still like the actors.

**\- Maureen:** The actress who's playing Maureen is doing a pretty good job of playing her. I love the scene where Simon accidentally calls Maureen "Clary" and he immediately makes up an excuse that he "forgot something." And then Maureen was like, "My name? Because it's Maureen..." That was pretty funny.

I'm not sure if I really believe that Simon would hook up with Maureen on a whim. We didn't get to see what led to Simon and Maureen sleeping together, which was disappointing. Maybe if we had seen that, I would have believed them. Simon doesn't seem like someone who would just sleep with someone and then ditch them. I would think that he'd be so excited he got laid (lol) and then he'd start dating the girl and spending a lot of time with them, because he's sort of old fashioned when it comes to dating. And also, it was so creepy when Simon hallucinated Clary in bed with him. I really didn't like how Clary was being so sultry and sensual. She was like all breathy, and like trying to have this huge sex appeal...I didn't enjoy that.

**Okay so those were my comments about the specific characters, now here are some general comments:**

What's with the Institute having like thousands of Shadowhunters living inside? I understand how the producers want to remind the audience that it's 2016, and that's why they have so much technology inside the Institute. I'm okay with that. But they're not really using that concept correctly. I don't understand why the Institute has so many Shadowhunters running around and controlling all this technology as if it's a spy base. And then when Jace, Alec, Isabelle, Clary, and Simon go around on their little missions, LITERALLY NO ONE IN THE INSTITUTE NOTICES OR STOPS THEM (except maybe Hodge) EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE LIKE 1000's OF SHADOWHUNTERS RUNNING AROUND. And then when Raphael was carrying Simon to the Institute and the alarm started ringing, not a single Shadowhunter but Jace, Clary, Izzy, and Alec ran out. Like no one noticed that there was a blaring alarm ringing and the monitor showed an object coming towards the Institute. It happened again when Hodge got attacked by the Forsaken. Only Alec and Izzy came running. They really need to fix this.

And let's talk about that Clace kiss...So throughout the entire season so far, I never really felt like Clary and Jace had any chemistry. Sure, they talked and stuff, but all their conversations were so meaningless. There was never really any point where I saw a spark between them. It's always Clary running to Jace and asking him to help her and Jace trying to use these one-liners on her that aren't really funny...So when they kissed, I didn't believe them for a second. And also, it wasn't special because of the fact that they were making out in front of all these Shadowhunters in the Institute. Like with Izzy and Alec, and everyone else watching them, it didn't feel romantic or anything! In the book/movie, we have this beautiful greenhouse scene where Jace and Clary are celebrating her birthday IN PRIVATE and they're alone so it's so much more magical. I know, they don't want to copy the movie, but at least they could have put Clary and Jace alone somewhere like in the training room or in the library!

Also did anyone else catch Magnus mention Tessa's name in Episode 4?! At first I was like, "OMG IS TESSA SERIOUSLY GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW?!" But then, I was like. "Wait, don't you dare touch Tessa," since they're practically ruining Clary and Jace's character already. So now I'm crossing my fingers that they don't have Tessa in the show :)

**Anyways, that's just my two-cents for the past couple of episodes. The show is kinda rushing along, hopefully they slow things down a little bit in the future. We have only 5 episodes left (!) and it's going to be over so soon. And please don't get me wrong, I genuinely want this show to do well. And I really really really hope they have a Season 2, otherwise I'm going to be so disappointed. Thanks for reading everyone! Leave me a review/PM if you agree with me on any of these things or if you would like to add anything on. I'll read all of them and get back to you ASAP! **

**Now onto the story! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Clary POV**

After Jia took the Mortal Sword away from Clary, she found a seat at one of the chairs surrounding the long table and sat down, Jace hovering next to her. Jia turned to Luke and asked him if he could take the Mortal Sword in his hands. Luke dutifully nodded and extended his hands out. Jia placed the Sword in his hands and immediately Luke's shoulders sagged, taking in the weight.

Jia asked him similar questions to the ones she asked Clary and Luke gave answers that Clary already knew. As the interrogation progressed, Luke's stature declined. Clary straightened in her seat, her eyes watching Luke intently. He looked sick, his face was colorless and pasty. His forehead glistened in the light of the library.

_Is this how I looked when I was holding the Sword?_ She thought, frowning.

Jia also asked Luke of his past, when he was still friends with Valentine. Luke responded with the same story that Jocelyn had told Clary in the Institute. She looked at Jia, who listened to Luke's story with her eyebrows drawn tightly together. She didn't comment on anything, or show any emotion other than curiosity and keen interest.

At the end of Luke's trial, Jia took the Sword away from him and placed it back in its glass case. Luke, color returning back to his face, stood up and swayed a bit, but quickly steadied himself against the table.

"Thank you both for your time," Jia said graciously. "I'm sorry if we seemed to harsh at first, but I hope you know, we were being stern for the good of all of us."

Clary nodded and Luke stepped forward. "Come on Clary, let's go home."

"What?" Clary frowned. "But what about the Seelie Court?"

"Good heavens, Clary," Jia gave her a look. "We aren't going to send you off to the Seelie Court tonight! No, we'll call you next week. I want to have a Shadowhunter come in from Idris to go there with you." Jia looked at Luke. "I think that Luke might know her very well."

"Oh," Clary said, a little disappointed. She glanced at Jace, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Clary. The Seelie Court is one of the last places you want to visit."

"Mhmm," she murmured and looked around the room, suddenly noticing that one particular Lightwood was not present. "Where's Izzy? I haven't seen her since I came here."

"Um, she's probably in her room," Alec supplied. When Clary made a move for the door, he stopped her. "But she's not feeling well, so you can just call her later or something."

"...Okay..." Clary gave Alec a weird look. "I guess I'll see you guys Monday then."

"See you," Jace smiled as Luke ushered Clary out of the Institute.

* * *

**Isabelle POV**

Isabelle was sitting at the edge of her bed, staring down at her hands. She had stormed back into her room after bursting out at her dad. Even though she knew that what she said to her dad was disrespectful, she felt a lot better letting out her emotions instead of keeping them inside. Ever since she found out about her father's affair, she lost all respect for him. Her mom had tried to assure Isabelle that it wasn't Robert's fault, but Isabelle blamed that as an excuse for the fact that Maryse still loved Robert.

_She loves him and he doesn't even think of her as a wife anymore,_ Isabelle thought bitterly. Okay, maybe that was stretching the truth a little bit, but that was what Isabelle wanted to believe.

A knock sounded on her door and she looked up as Alec poked his head in.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," Isabelle said softly, looking back down at her hands.

Alec came into the room and sat down next to Isabelle on her bed. He sat there for a few minutes before saying,"Remember when we were younger, and we would go to Alicante every summer?"

Isabelle nodded and smiled faintly at the memory. Alicante was one of the prettiest places she'd ever visited in her entire life. Shadowhunters didn't call it the Glass City for nothing.

"Everything was a lot simpler back then, wasn't it?" Isabelle said, leaning her head against her brother's shoulder.

"Izzy_—_" Alec started, then paused. "Whatever you think is going on between Mom and Dad_—_"

"Do _you_ even know what's going on with Mom and Dad?" Isabelle sat up and looked at her brother.

Alec's eyebrows furrowed. "I know you're upset that Dad left to be the Inquisitor and isn't able to spend much time with us, but it's his job, and he's doing it to regain the Lightwood name. You of all people know that ever since the Uprising, the Clave has been wary of us Lightwoods. With Dad's new position, we can have the Clave's trust again."

"That's what you think," Isabelle gave a cold chuckle. "Dad didn't accept the position to restore the family name. The only name he cares about it is own. He accepted it to get away from us. All of us. You, me, Mom, and Max."

"What are you talking about?" Alec asked.

"Dad cheated on Mom," she said quietly.

Alec's eyes widened and he reeled back from Isabelle. "What the hell—"

"Whoa, don't act so surprised," Isabelle laughed darkly.

"You're joking, right?"

"Why would I joke about something like this?"

"Dad would never leave Mom like that," Alec shook his head. "Look, I know Dad may not have his best moments, but..." he trailed off and Isabelle continued.

"Mom told me_—_when I was thirteen." She glanced at Alec, who looked like he had been double crossed. "He had an affair with a lady named Annamarie Highsmith. Dad loved her so much that he was going to leave us. But then, Mom told him she was carrying Max...and he decided to stay."

"I can't believe this."

"When the Clave banished Mom and Dad to New York after the Uprising, their relationship became strained. Dad blamed Mom for the Clave's doing. He would have left Mom then if it weren't for the both of us." She turned to look at Alec, who swallowed hard. "It seems like something he'd do, to be honest."

"Jesus," Alec pushed his hair back, staring into space. Then he turned to Isabelle, "You knew about this and kept it in you for four years..." Alec frowned when he realized the truth. "That's why you're always so mad at Dad."

"Mad doesn't begin to cover it," Isabelle let out a shaky breath. She found Alec's hand and grasped it tightly. "Don't tell Mom I told you. I don't think she even meant to tell me...She was crying and it sort of just...slipped out of her."

"I won't," Alec promised.

* * *

**Clary POV**

The next few days went by pretty quietly. Clary didn't see Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Simon until Monday at school. Aside from the usual activities on weekdays, nothing exciting happened to Clary. On Wednesday, Luke took her back to the hospital, and the doctor told Clary that her cast could come off. Clary was now able to walk fine on both feet, without the need of crutches.

By the time the next weekend rolled around, Clary was anxious to go to the Seelie Court. Maryse had called Luke and told him to come with Clary to the Institute Saturday night.

Right now, Clary was sitting in Luke's pickup truck, and he was driving her to the Institute. He was telling her everything she needed to know about Faeries, so she would know what to expect.

"You need to remember that Faeries are vindictive creatures," Luke said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Out of all the Downworlders, they may be the most deadly."

Clary nodded, swallowing hard.

"They have the beauty of angels, but they also have the malevolence of demons. And true fey cannot lie."

"That's a good thing, right?" Clary asked.

"Not really," Luke replied. "They expertly weave lies into sentences by using methods such as not telling the whole truth, letting others assume things, or not correcting the people with whom they're speaking. But this doesn't apply to half-fey, who can lie as easily as any other being."

"Oh," Clary said in a small voice.

"There are also different types of Faeries—nixies, which is what your friend Kaelie was, pixies, brownies, selkies, satyrs, mermaids, kelpies, hobgoblins, and boggarts. They all posses old and powerful magic that the Gray Book can only partly protect against. But they do have weaknesses."

_Thank goodness,_ Clary thought with relief.

"Iron is toxic to faeries, just like silver to werewolves. And they are also vulnerable to rowan wood, salt, and gravesoil. Here," Luke dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small dagger a little less than the length of Clary's forearm. "It's an iron dagger. Any Fae tries anything funny, use this on them."

"Uh...Okay," Clary gingerly took the dagger from Luke.

"I really wish you weren't going," Luke said, giving her a glance. "Your mom would have wanted to keep you safe, and this isn't anything near safe."

"I need to do this," Clary insisted. "This is the only way I can find my mom at the moment." She paused, "And besides, I won't be alone. Jace, Isabelle, and Alec are coming along—"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"—_and_ that Shadowhunter from Idris is coming, remember?" Clary added. "I wonder who it is..."

Luke sighed, and pulled up in front of the Institute. "We're here."

* * *

**Jace POV**

"Do you all have your seraph blades?" Maryse asked anxiously. She was standing in the weapons room with Jace, Isabelle, Alec.

"Yes, Mom, we do," Isabelle smiled reassuringly.

"All right," Maryse went up to her daughter and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry—I'm just worried about your safety."

"You don't need to be," Jace promised. "We're going to be okay, we've been on dangerous missions before."

"Yes, but none of them involved going to the Seelie Court," Maryse wrung her hands out. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"We promise," Alec gave Maryse a hug and walked out of the room, Maryse, Jace, and Isabelle following. They entered the foyer just in time to see the Institute doors open to reveal Luke and Clary.

"Clary," Jace grinned and came forward, embracing her in a hug.

"Hi," she said, and Jace felt her shake nervously.

"Whoa, hey," Jace took her hands. "You're going to be okay, don't worry."

Clary bit her lip and nodded, looking over Jace's shoulder to see Isabelle, Alec, and Maryse. "Hi guys. Hi Mrs. Lightwood."

"Clary, dear, would you like to change out of your clothes?" Maryse suggested. "Isabelle has some Shadowhunter gear that you can wear."

Jace looked down at Clary's simple green hoodie and washed out jeans and smirked.

"I can take you up to my room," Isabelle offered.

"Sure," Clary followed her up the stairs and disappeared.

"Lucian, why don't you take the boys to the kitchen," Maryse suggested. "The Shadowhunter from Idris arrived last night, and I think you'd want to meet them. I'll go and call Andrew Blackthorn to come downstairs."

Jace frowned and trailed behind Luke and Alec. He didn't know who was coming from Idris, and the way Maryse was acting was definitely intriguing. He entered the kitchen, which was empty for a single woman sitting at one of the bar stools placed next to the island counter, sipping coffee from a Styrofoam cup. She looked up at Luke as they entered and her face paled.

"Amatis?" Luke stopped short, and Jace and Alec almost crashed into him.

"Lucian?" she gasped, standing up abruptly. The coffee cup fell from her hand, and although it wasn't made of glass, the coffee still spilled from the cup and onto the granite counter top.

"Oh hell," the woman—Amatis, Luke had called her—said, jumping back before the coffee could burn her.

"Here," Luke came forward and took some paper towels from the counter to help clean up the mess.

"I'm sorry," Amatis apologized. "I just...I didn't know you were visiting the New York Institute."

Jace raised his eyebrows. He was definitely missing something here. Who was this woman and what relation did she have to Luke? He didn't think he'd ever met her before, but she did look a little familiar.

"Oh...I...uh...I live here," Luke said uncomfortably. "In New York."

"Oh, of course," Amatis nodded hastily. "I'm sorry, it's been so long...will you be joining us on the mission?"

"No," Luke shook his head. "That would be, Andrew Blackthorn, Isabelle, Clary, and these two." He gestured to Alec and Jace. "Amatis, this is Maryse's son Alec, and his _parabatai_, Jace Herondale."

"Herondale," Amatis echoed faintly, staring at Jace—almost scrutinizing him. "Stephen's son."

"Yes," Luke cleared his throat.

_Okay, what is happening?_ Jace thought. He glanced at Alec, who was looking at Amatis with—was it _sympathy_?

"What's going on here?" a voice sounded from the entrance of the kitchen.

The group whirled around and saw Isabelle and Clary standing in the doorway. Clary was dressed in a navy blue tank top with leather jacket and dark jeans. Isabelle had drawn several runes on her neck and arms. Jace's breath caught in his throat. This was the first time he had seen Clary in Shadowhunter gear, and he had to say, she looked fierce.

"Girls, this is Amatis," Luke said. "My sister."

_Sister?!_ Jace eyes widened.

"Oh my god, hi," Clary came forward with a hesitant smile. "I'm Clary and this is Isabelle." She gave Luke a look and said almost accusingly. "I had no idea Luke had a sister."

_Ditto_, Jace thought, frowning. He looked at Amatis more carefully, and realized why he thought she looked familiar. She had the same blue eyes as Luke.

"Yes, well," Luke rubbed the back of her neck. "She'll be accompanying you four along with Andrew Blackthorn. You remember him, don't you?"

"Yeah," Clary smiled at Amatis. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Amatis nodded. "You look just like your mother."

Clary blinked, and Amatis seemed to realize what she had just said.

"I am truly sorry to hear about what happened. We will do our best to find her."

"Thank you," Clary murmured. Jace reached out and clasped her hand in his.

"We should probably get going," he said.

"Right," Luke led everyone out of the kitchen, where Maryse and Andrew were just descending the stairs.

"Is everyone ready?" Andrew asked. He was also equipped with weapons and runes, just like the rest of the group. "Good, let's go. Magnus Bane agreed to come and build a Portal for us."

"He did?" Alec's voice perked up. Jace bit back a laugh and exchanged a glance with Clary and Isabelle.

"Yes, he's in the Sanctuary right now," Maryse replied. The group followed her into the room, where the warlock indeed, standing next to a glittering Portal. Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Clary hovered by the entrance of the Sanctuary, while the adults went up to Magnus.

"Ah, there you all are," Magnus smirked. "It is good to see you again after so many years, Amatis Graymark?"

"Look, Jace...there's something you should know about Amatis," Alec said.

"What?"

"She's used to be an Herondale."

"Hold on, she's related to me?"

"Yeah," Alec said grimly. "I didn't get a chance to tell you before, but Amatis used to be your dad's wife. He was married to Amatis before he met Celine."

"How the hell did I not know about this?" Jace hissed. "My dad cheated on Amatis with my mom—?!"

"I'm sure it wasn't like that," Clary interrupted.

"She's right," Alec said. "Valentine was involved."

Jace's rage dissipated and he looked at Clary.

"See?" she said. "My idiot dad got in the way. It wasn't Stephen's fault."

"Alec, Isabelle?" Maryse called out from near the Portal. "Andrew and Amatis have already left through the Portal, you might want to catch up."

Jace swallowed hard and walked forward. Clary hugged Luke who murmured a few words to her. Clary nodded and gave Magnus a smile before passing through the Portal.

"Be safe, all of you," Maryse reminded Jace, Alec, and Isabelle. "If anything happens, you get out of there as fast as you can."

"Mom," Isabelle said pointedly. She passed through the Portal, and Alec and Jace followed.

On the other side, Jace landed onto a soft lawn, overlooking a vast pond. Clary, Amatis, and Andrew were already standing at the waters edge, discussing something quietly. Jace got to his feet, and he, Alec, and Isabelle joined them.

"Good, you're all here," Andrew said. "We'll travel through the pond, and make our way into the throne room. Once we're there, I'll do the talking. Got it? Tell Amatis or I if you see anything." Andrew stepped into the water, the waves lapping at his ankles. He turned around, and fell into the water. The waves seemed to pull him under, and soon he disappeared.

"After you," Amatis gestured to the teens. Jace looked at Clary and took her hand.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

**Clary POV**

Clary walked to the water's edge, took a deep breath and fell backwards. She crashed into the water, and she felt cold and numb all over but soon she realized she was lying on a small pile of dirt in a dark cave. Clary started coughing, trying to get taste of the murky water out of her mouth. She was soaking wet, and heavy drops of water rolled down her back. Her damp clothes and hair stuck to her skin, and she couldn't stop shivering.

Lifting her head, Clary came face to face with a blinding light. The light shifted and Andrew's face appeared behind his hand, which was holding a witchlight.

"Here," Andrew hauled Clary up to her feet just as Jace crashed onto the ground next to Clary. He got up and readjusted his weapons belt, water dripping from his jacket and jeans. His hair was plastered to the side of his face like Clary's. Soon after, Isabelle, Alec, and Amatis appeared. They all stood up and Isabelle immediately went to work wringing out her hair.

"Hurry," Andrew urged the group. "The Seelies will realize we've arrived if we stay here any longer, and we'll lose the element of surprise." He set forward, and the group followed him. They continued walking in the dark for a few minutes until they came across a small clearing. A curtain of black thorns hung, and slivers of light peeked through the cracks. There was also rather large red roses dotted along the curtain, but as the Shadowhunters came closer, the roses wilted and disappeared.

_So much for a welcoming committee,_ Clary rolled her eyes.

As Andrew reached out to draw the curtain aside, Clary realized that they was music flowing out. It was an odd, sweet, compelling sound that drew Clary closer. Her spirits lifted when she listened to—her heart swelled and she felt like she was on Cloud 9. The notes pulled her forward, and she hurried past the curtain.

"Clary, wait!" Jace hissed, and tried to catch her as she passed, but Clary slipped past his grip.

She emerged into a large room that was decorated for a party. It had dirt on the ground for a floor and its walls were lined with tall stone pillars covered in twisting vines and colorful flowers. Banners of fabric hung between the pillars, resembling a bright blue sky. The room seemed full of light, and Clary felt like she was outside, in the middle of summer. Her clothes felt like they had dried up—the cold, wet feeling was gone and was replaced with warmth and spirit.

She then noticed that the room was filled with faeries of all kinds. They had pale, beautiful faces and some had shimmering wings of gold, lavender, and blue. Their hair was brightly colored as well—scarlet, metal gold, and ice white. There were creatures barely the size of her pinkie that zipped around the room, wings fluttering furiously, to creatures her height that had pointy ears. And they were all dancing to the music, in graceful unison. Clary felt obligated to move her own feet in the dance.

As the rest of the Shadowhunters came out of the curtain behind Clary, one of the faeries, a tall man with long black hair dressed in white armor, glanced their way and his eyes widened. He dropped the glass he was holding and it crashed to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. In a flash, he drew a sword out of the sheath that was attached to his armor and pointed it at the Shadowhunters.

"Nephilim," he said dryly. The music stopped and all the faeries, turned, staring at them.

Clary took a step back and made eye contact with one of the faeries standing in front of her. It smiled mischievously, baring it's pointy teeth and she winced. Andrew stepped forward, raising his hands up.

"What are you all doing here?" The faerie knight said, sword still pointed at the Shadowhunters. He walked closer to them until he was only a foot away. The sword was now and inch from Andrew's throat.

"We request an audience with the Queen," Andrew said calmly.

"The Queen is not having any visitors," the faerie night shot back. "You must all leave now."

"We want to meet the Queen," Andrew didn't move.

The faerie knight scowled and raised his right hand in command. One of the faeries Clary had seen flying around earlier, flew away out of the door that was in the opposite end of the room. Minutes later, it flew back to the faerie knight and whispered something in his ear.

Andrew held the faerie knight's gaze for a few more seconds until finally, he lowered the sword.

"Follow me," he said surly and spun on his heel, stalking towards the door. Andrew relaxed his shoulders and turned around, signaling the rest of the Shadowhunters to come with him.

Clary swallowed hard and went after him, keeping in line with Jace. The music resumed and the rest of the faeries continued dancing again. They parted a path for the Shadowhunters to cross the room, and as they walked through, Clary glanced around.

The faeries were looking at her as they walked on, and their bodies moved closer to her as they danced. One faerie, a girl with pink and blue wings and silver hair, even extended her hand out, giving the offer to join them. Clary didn't know what it was, but on a sudden, strong, impulse, she reached out their hand as well to accept the offer, when Jace yanked her back against him quickly.

"What are you doing?" he scolded her. "If you dance with them, you'll dance until you die."

"What?" Clary frowned, blinking as if she was in a dream.

Jace sighed frustratedly and took out his stele and quickly drew a rune on her wrist. Clary awakened, and looked around again, staring into the faces of faeries that had seemed lovely at first. Now they were the same faces with something savage and feral hiding inside them. Clary stiffened and realized that the faerie who had extended her hand out had fingers made of twigs, budded with closed leaves. Her eyes were entirely black without the white surrounding it.

"Come on," Jace urged Clary forward to catch up with the group, making their way to the far end of the room, where a curtain of lilac silk hung in the doorway. The Shadowhunters followed the Faerie knight through and into a corridor. They walked down the corridor into a large arched doorway.

The faerie knight stepped aside, and gestured into the room. Andrew went in first, and the others after him. This time, the room was massive, the ceiling stretching as far as the eye could see. The floor was clear glass and the room was basically empty. The only furniture inside was an elaborate divan, were a woman sat, her dress and legs spread out across the cushions. When Clary's eyes fell on her, she sucked in a breath.

The woman was, no doubt, the famous Seelie Queen Clary kept hearing about. She was a lovely, slender woman with long scarlet hair, deeper than Clary's. Her hair was woven with flowers and was carefully placed over her shoulders. It was her eyes that intrigued Clary the most, however. They were a clear blue, and it seemed as if you could stare into them and see your own reflection.

The faerie knight went past the Shadowhunters and stood in front of the Queen. He bowed low, and said, "My Queen, I have brought the Nephilim to you."

Andrew and Amatis bowed quickly, and the teens hastily followed.

"Thank you Meliorn. Welcome Nephilim," the Queen spoke in a soft, melodious voice, "to the Seelie Court. I am rather surprised to see you here. I did not know you were coming."

Andrew stood up straight again, and regained his posture. "Forgive me, my lady. Andrew Blackthorn, of the Los Angeles Institute. I am here with Amatis Graymark, hailing from Idris, Isabelle and Alexander Lightwood and Jace Herondale, of the New York Institute, and—"

"Clarissa Fairchild," the Queen said, staring straight at Clary. She felt her blood freeze as the Queen's razor sharp gaze surveyed her.

"I have heard a lot about you," the Queen smiled. Clary shrank back and Jace clasped his hand in hers.

"It was devastating to hear about your mother," the Queen said sympathetically. "My condolences for your loss."

"Thank you," Clary squeaked. "My lady," she hastily added.

"Now, what exactly was your reason for visiting?" the Queen turned to Andrew.

"Ah yes, my lady," Andrew said. "Please remember that the Nephilim do not mean to offend the Fair Folk in any way. We were just hoping that you could shed some light on the situation at hand. You see my lady, the Clave has reason to believe that the Fair Folk have been meddling with mundanes and breaking the Accords by conspiring with Valentine."

"Is that so?" the Queen murmured. "Why would you think that?"

"Well," Andrew glanced at Clary. "A fae by the name of Kaelie Whitewillow attended St. Xavier's School in Brooklyn, New York. There are several witnesses who can testify that fact, including mundanes."

"I see," the Seelie Queen smirked. "But I do find it rather hypocritical that you would call that an infringement when your people themselves have also attended this mundane school."

"M-my lady," Andrew stammered. "Clary does not nearly count as a Shadowhunter, she has never Ascended. She has lived her whole 17 years as a mundane—"

"I was not talking about Clarissa," the Seelie Queen interrupted him. "I was talking about _those three_."

"Jace, Alec, and Isabelle?" Amatis spoke up. "Why, my lady, they were attending St. Xavier's by order of the Clave."

"The Clave?" the Seelie Queen's eyebrow rose up. "I thought they were on a rogue mission set by Maryse Lightwood."

Clary's stomach dropped and she looked at Jace, who had a face that clearly read, _How does she know about all of this?_

"My lady, their mission was to protect Clary at school—"

"Protect? Or spy on?" the Queen asked. "Everyone knows that Clarissa was considered and is still considered today a threat to the Nephilim and the rest of the Shadowhunters. Surely, you did not risk the lives of three of your best Shadowhunters to protect a girl who was categorized as...what is that mundane saying? Armed and dangerous? No, you sent these children to spy on her and see if she was secretly working against the Nephilim."

Clary's face paled but she tried not to show a look of betrayal in her face. There was no way Jace, Alec, and Isabelle were sent to spy on her. No, they were at St. Xavier's to protect her and her mom in case Valentine came after them.

Andrew pressed his lips tightly together and his shoulder's relaxed. Clary assumed he realized that he could get nowhere with this argument. "Nevertheless, my lady, there is still the matter that the Fair Folk are conspiring with Valentine."

"And who told you that?"

"Actually, my lady, it was Kaelie Whitewillow again. She admitted to Jace and Clary that she was the one who fed Clary's address to Valentine so he could capture her and Jocelyn Fairchild. And since faeries cannot lie—"

"Ah, see that is where you are wrong. How about I call Kaelie here?" the Queen asked. "She will tell you the truth so you can stop believing any more lives." She nodded at Meliorn, who disappeared out of the room. He came back moments later with Kaelie in his tow.

Clary's face immediately hardened and she gave Kaelie a death glare. The pixie went up, next to the Queen, appearing oblivious to the Shadowhunters.

"Kaelie, dear, please inform this kind man about what you told Clarissa and her Shadowhunter friend. Did you tell them that we were working for Valentine?"

"I did not, my lady," Kaelie said, a sinister smile creeping along her lips. "I never spoke to Clary or any of her friends."

"What?!" Clary exclaimed. She turned to Jace. "I thought faeries couldn't lie!"

"They can't," Isabelle shook her head.

"She must be half-fey," Alec gritted his teeth. "So now there's no way to prove that she was telling the truth to you guys in the library, because she could have been lying then."

Clary looked back at Kaelie, and her mouth twisted into a snarl. "You little—"

"Hey, hey!" Jace grabbed onto Clary and held her back. "Just leave her alone, she doesn't deserve it."

"Well, I think we're done here, then, aren't we?" the Seelie Queen said. "Kaelie, you are dismissed."

"Thank you, my lady," Kaelie curtsied and gave Clary a little wave before leaving the room.

Andrew gave a huff of resentment but mustered a smile to the Queen. "Thank you my lady for your hospitality. It was a pleasure talking to you." He bowed down but once again, the Queen cut in.

"Oh, now, hold on just a minute," the Queen spoke up.

_What now?_ Clary thought irritably.

"I haven't finished my last order of business," the Queen said. She looked at Clary. "I wish to speak to Clary." Then she looked at the rest of the Shadowhunters. "Alone."

"No," Jace said immediately. "Not a chance." Andrew gave a reprimanding look at Jace as Amatis started talking.

"Surely, my lady, whatever you have to say to Clary you can say in front of us?" Amatis said.

"Would you really be so rude as to decline a wish directly from me?" the Queen asked.

Andrew and Amatis shared a look. "Very well, my lady," Andrew said reluctantly. "Thank you for your kindness."

"Meliorn, please escort our guests outside," the Queen ordered. Meliorn stepped forward and started to lead Andrew, Amatis, Alec, and Isabelle outside. Jace quickly took the opportunity to lean into Clary.

"If she offers anything to us, don't accept it. Don't drink anything and don't eat anything. And if anything happens, you run out of here, back the way we came, okay?" Clary nodded, her heart racing.

"Okay, be careful," Jace pressed a kiss onto her forehead, and gave her one last smile before running off to join the rest of the Shadowhunters.

"Clarissa, please, have a seat beside me," the Queen said. And as if on cue, a faerie appeared with a small ottoman ornamented with jeweled cushions and flowers. Another faerie came behind him with a platter filled with food and two glasses of yellow-orange looking liquid. Clary cautiously walked up to the Queen and sat down next to her.

"Would you like something to eat?" the Queen asked. "Something to drink? We have ambrosia and nectar juice, if you'd like."

Remembering Jace's words, Clary politely declined. "No thank you."

"All right, then," the Queen's hair shifted around her silk dress. She paused, giving Clary a one-over. "You must tell me, Clarissa. Why did you come here?"

"Huh?" Clary frowned. "Um..."

"The faerie realm called to you in your dreams, didn't it?" the Queen smirked. "The Fair Folk have that affect on people. If you were compelled to come to me, then something very important will most likely happen to you here."

_And what would that be?_ Clary thought.

"But moving on," the Queen took one of the glasses of nectar juice and sipped it delicately, "you must be having quite the journey."

"Yes," Clary managed, her voice tight. "It has been."

"It must have been shocking to you to find out about this world. Did your mother really not tell you about any of this?"

"Uh...no, she didn't."

The Queen's eyes gave off a condescending shine and Clary shifted her eyes to the floor. "Tell me, what do you identify yourself with?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you thought you were a mere mundane for seventeen years of your life, and now you've been sucked into the world of the Shadowhunters, after finding that being a child of Raziel was your destiny all along. Do you consider yourself with the Nephilim or the mundanes?"

"I..." Clary started, then realized that she had never seriously considered the question. What was she? Sure she had been just a normal teenager for so long, and now that she was introduced to the Shadow World, she had spent almost all her time with them...she was sort of accepting it as a part of her life. But then again, there was Simon...and high school, and her dreams of becoming an artist after graduating—

"You don't know, do you?" the Queen smiled vindictively. "You don't know whether you want to go back to your mundane life or stay with the Nephilim."

Clary lowered her eyes and avoided the Queen's burning gaze.

"What could possibly be holding you back? Surely it cannot be your mother. You could have left the Shadow World when you had the chance, before she was taken. You know for sure how the Shadowhunters feel about you and your mother. They hate you—they think of you as a threat, nothing less," she paused, scrutinizing Clary. "No, it cannot be...It's him, it's the boy. Johnathan Herondale."

Clary looked at her, startled, and felt her cheeks redden.

"How long have you known him?"

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"Ah, yes you may not, but it would be unwise to go against my desires."

Clary clenched her fists at her side at the Queen's behavior. "It's been almost two months now."

"He's a charming boy isn't he?" the Queen smirked.

"...Yeah," Clary cleared her throat.

"It's funny that you pine for him, and he doesn't give a second thought about you," the Queen said casually. Clary stood up, startled, the ottoman skidding backwards.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, don't act like you haven't already thought about this! The only reason you were introduced to the Johnathan and the Lightwoods in the first place was because of the fact that you are Valentine's daughter."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why else would the Clave be after you? I already told you—you know how the Clave treats you and your mother. They couldn't care less about what happened to you both, all they want is Valentine. All Johnathan wants is Valentine. You Nephilim think that you're perfect and above every other being on this planet, but you're wrong. You're just as flawed and weak as the rest of us."

Clary dismissed what the Queen said last, and focused on what she said about Jace. "That doesn't make sense. Jace knows that I'm not in league with Valentine, why would he still stick around? He could have just forgotten about me." She gave the Queen a challenging look, but the Queen's words still hit her hard.

"Because he knows that Valentine is after you. Wherever you go, Valentine follows. And if you're wondering what Johnathan wants with Valentine, it's not what he wants from him, but what he wants to do to him. He wants to avenge his parent's deaths by killing Valentine. He's never cared about you Clarissa. He doesn't love you! Get that fantasy out of your head. Romance isn't a strong suit in a Shadowhunter's life. You heard what happened between your parents," the Queen finished with an icy glare.

"I don't believe you," Clary shook her head fiercely. "Jace would never...betray me like that, I—"

"You don't need the Nephilim. You don't need the Shadow World. You think that everyone—Johnathan, the Lightwoods wants you to be safe and alive. They could care less—you and your mother are just collateral damage. And you're too blind by your love for Johnathan to see it." She plucked a flower from her hair and twisted it between her fingers. "That boy will break your heart, Clarissa."

Tears sprung in Clary's eyes and she did her best to control herself. "Why are you doing this?" she said as her voice broke.

"Because I want to protect you. You assume that the Nephilim will help you, but they will not. You will only be in more danger with the children of Raziel."

"Is that another one of your lies, too?"

"Watch your tone young lady," the Queen leaned forward slightly. "You do not want to make an enemy of the Seelie Queen. And besides," she leaned back again. "It is against my will to speak anything but the truth, remember?"

Clary felt like a hot knife was stuck in her stomach. So if the Queen couldn't lie, did that mean that everything she said about the Clave—about Jace—was real? Her lip quivered as she focused on the Queen's first comment. Remembering how polite the other Shadowhunters had been in front of the Queen, she mustered a small, "I'm sorry, my lady."

"I trust you'll take my words into consideration?"

"Yes, thank you, my lady," Clary curtsied and took a small step back.

"Good. I look forward to talk to you again, Clarissa Fray. You may show yourself out. Your friends are waiting for you outside the realm."

Clary nodded and hurried out of the room, the tears falling the second she turned away from the Seelie Queen.

* * *

**Jace POV**

"This is taking way longer than it should be!" Jace exclaimed. He ran his hands through his hair and marched up and down the small dark caven. After Meliorn took them out of the throne room, he lead them through the crowed of revelers again and left them in the pitch black cave they started out in. Before leaving, Meliorn warned the Shadowhunters to leave the Faerie realm the minute Clary came back. For the past fifteen minutes, the five Shadowhunters sat in the cave, the only light source from Andrew's witch light and the light peeking through the curtains of thorns. Amatis and Andrew conversed quietly, while Alec and Isabelle sat on the ground, polishing their weapons.

"That's it, I'm going to check on her," Jace said, walking towards the curtain.

"No need, she's coming," Andrew pointed to the curtain, which rustled. Clary emerged, her face looking flushed and wet.

"There you are," Isabelle stood up, stuffing her knives into her weapons belt. "We were starting to get worried. What did the Queen say?"

"Uh..." Clary pursed her lips. "Nothing much...she just asked me about how I was getting along with the Shadow World."

"That's it?" Jace frowned. He studied Clary—her face, which was red and and looked tired, her posture, which was hunched like she was scared. Something was wrong, and she wasn't telling them what.

"Clary," Jace placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Clary moved out of his grip, letting Jace's hand fall limply to his side. "Come on, we should go back."

Jace stared at her retreating figure in confusion. _What is going on? _He realized the other Shadowhunters had already started following Clary and hurried to join them. One by one, they all splashed out of the Clave—Clary went first, then Andrew, Amatis, Alec, Isabelle, and Jace last. When he landed back on the shore of Turtle Pond, there was a glimmering Portal waiting for them. Isabelle was just about to go through it when she spotted Jace.

"Come on!" She called out. "They've all gone through already!" She turned and disappeared into the Portal, Jace following suit. He appeared back in the Sanctuary of the Institute, almost landing on top of Isabelle.

"Watch yourself," Isabelle caught him before he crushed her.

"Sorry," he apologized and looked around. He only saw Maryse, who was talking to Alec, Andrew, and Amatis. Magnus was busy closing the Portal, and Isabelle was leaving the Sanctuary to change out of her wet clothes. Luke and Clary were no where to be seen. He walked over to Maryse, and asked, "Did you see where Clary went?"

"Oh, she just left with Luke a few moments before you arrived. You can still catch them before they leave."

"Okay, thanks," Jace ran off, sprinting down the hall. He rounded the corner just in time to see Luke and Clary heading towards the front door. "Hey, Clary wait!"

Clary looked over her shoulder and her expression seemingly darkened when she spotted Jace. She tried to wave good bye to him and leave the Institute, but Jace caught up to her and turned her around.

"Where are you going?" He asked, giving her an odd look.

"Um, I'll leave you two alone," Luke said awkwardly. He looked at Clary and added, "I'll bring the car around front," before hurrying out the door.

Clary sighed and turned back to Jace. "I'm going home," she said flatly. "It's late, and I'm wet, in case you forgot."

"It's only nine o'clock," Jace pointed out. "What's wrong, why are you acting so—"

"So...what?" Clary raised her eyebrows.

"So strange," he finished. "You've been acting like this ever since you came back from the Seelie Court," Clary's eyes shifted to the floor, and Jace realized what was wrong.

"It _was_ the Seelie Court," he said, crossing his arms. "Clary, what happened in there?"

"Nothing," Clary lifted his gaze to his. "Everything was fine." Her eyes sparkled like they were filled with...tears?

"Clearly it wasn't," Jace said softly. "Just tell me what happened."

Clary closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head stubbornly.

"Clary, please—"

"Fine, you want to know what happened?" Clary burst out, her eyes blazing. Jace reeled back at her outburst.

"She went on and on about how you're pretending to be interested in me in order to get to Valentine, and—"

"What?" Jace interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"Tell me Jace. On the day you met me in the movie theater, did you only introduce yourself to me because I was Valentine's daughter?"

Jace's mouth parted slightly and he didn't answer at first. "N-no, of course not."

"Don't lie to me, Jace. The Queen told me that you got close to me to figure out where Valentine was because you wanted to be some sort of hero and avenge your parents. That, all of this," she waved her hands between them, "was all just an act." She paused, chest rising and falling heavily. "And don't say that the Queen was lying, because you and I both now that she's a full fey and that she can't lie."

"Clary, listen to me," Jace started carefully. "I'm going to be honest with you, and I hope that you can forgive me for my honesty. I..." he bit back his words and tried again. "I _did_ introduce myself to you because you were Valentine's daughter—"

Clary let out a gasp of pain and this time the tears fell freely, one after the other. Jace felt a heavy pang in his chest and he reached for Clary, but she just drew away.

"So everything you've said to me, and you kissing me that day on the staircase, that was all fake?" she asked.

"No, that's the thing Clary. Yes, I did only talk to you and flirt with you at first because of Valentine, and because I hated his guts, but when I actually got to know you—"

Clary shook her head in disgust, as if she was trying to ignore what he was saying, and Jace tried to keep her attention.

"I started realizing that you were more than Valentine's daughter. I started realizing that I was..." he took a breath and continued. "I was falling in love with you Clary."

Clary looked up, but the clouded look of judgement still lay in her eyes.

"You're freaking brilliant, Clary. That kiss was real, I swear to God. At first I hated myself for falling for you—I used to take pride in being hard-to-get," he laughed sheepishly, but when Clary didn't smile back, his grin disappeared, "Being in love as a Shadowhunter isn't very common, and I was trying to focus on my work—on Valentine, but how could I when there was you?"

He stopped, and took a step forward. "Please, Clary. I'm so sorry. I don't know what the Seelie Queen said, but I want you to know when I say this. I love you, and I will make it up to you, I promise." He searched her face. "Please," he tried again.

"I'm sorry," Clary shook her head. The tears had stopped flowing, and now she looked dead tired. "You still lied to me for weeks without telling me. I can't—" she sighed. "I'm sorry, Jace."

A honk sounded from outside, and Clary turned. Luke was sitting in his pickup truck, parked in front of the Institute, waving to her. Clary looked back at Jace, and mumbled, "I just need to be alone for a while...I'm sorry." She stuffed her hands in her pockets and ran out the door, down the driveway and got into Luke's car.

Jace walked up to the doorway and watched wistfully as the pickup truck drove down the street. He exclaimed in frustration, mostly mad at himself for being such a jerk.

_Such an idiot,_ he thought angrily. Out of rage, he slammed his hand against the door and shoved it shut. Walking away from the door, he went up the stairst o go to his room. Alec was walking towards him on the way, and he stopped to ask Jace a question, but he just ignored him, going into his room, slamming the door, collapsing onto his bed, and letting himself dissolve in his dreams.

* * *

**A/N: Don't hate me! I told you that his was a Clace story in the first chapter, and I promise it is, this is all just a part of the plot :) I promise, they'll get back together, even if it takes a while.**

**But I really do hope you enjoyed that chapter! It was kind of long, and I hope everyone was okay with that! Please tell me what you thought of Alec and Isabelle bonding, Amatis, the Seelie Queen, and Jace/Clary's fight in your review! Thanks xx**

**bookaddict23:** Haha, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, I had an awesome vacation, thanks for asking :) Hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Shuuwai:** Yes, that's true. The show runners promised that it isn't like the books, and that fans will be surprised because they're going to put in cliffhangers and all that stuff to make sure that fans who've read the books are also constantly on their toes. Thanks for your thoughts!

**Guest: (the bold part is my response to you) **I absolutely ADORE Simon in Shadowhunters. His lines make the show ! And I love how Valentine killed one of the circle members (his follower) for insulting Jocelyn. I only wish that we could see Sebastian already. Even if he was just an extra for the first two seasons and then all of a sudden it's like HOLY SHIT he was there the whole time. Like you could see Valentine ordering him around but while other circle members were present so that nobody need know. Or he could be casually stalking the institute gang, not knowing that Clary is Valentine's daughter, but is definitely Jocelyn's. **Yeah, Simon is awesome in the show! And I also agree with Valentine killing one of the Circle members. You can completely tell that he is still in love with her. Haha, I'm like crossing my fingers that they'll end Season 1 with the reveal of Sebastian, even though he doesn't come until City of Glass :) Thanks for giving me your thoughts!**

**Guest: (the bold part is my response to you) **Okay chap 10 was the best! Love feisty Clary. Finally some action it was a lil drawn out but stuck through it and loved chap 10 . Can't wAit for the court! As for the show I hope your right about the first couple of episodes. Not a fan of Clary or Jace. She can't act and be cant either and he walks funny like he put to much muscle on. I like Alec and Simon. The Jury is still out though but the actress that plays Clary blows big time! **Ahaha, thank you so much, that means a lot. Fun fact: the actress who plays Clary is actually from Disney Channel/Nick, so maybe that's why she's not really maturing into her role? Thanks for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter :)**

**Thanks everyone for reviewing^, and be sure to read my review of the last couple of episodes of Shadowhunters if you haven't already! **

**Remember to review today's chapter and hit that follow/favorite button! PM me if you wanna have a discussion about Shadowhunters, and I'll be more than happy to talk with you :)**

**Thanks so much you guys, I'll try to update as soon as I can. See you in Chapter 12!**

**~bookwormbullet**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: GUYS OMG THERE'S GONNA BE A SECOND SEASON OF SHADOWHUNTERS! AHHHHH I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T WAIT XD XD XD**

**I was really scared that the show was going to get canceled since the movie also got canceled, but it didn't and I'm really happy. I think it was probably because the producers did a MUCH BETTER JOB at promoting the show and having such a cool fan interactive experience. This really helped the show and also because it's on ABC Family (Freeform), and that's a pretty popular channel (at least in the US). But I'm so excited for Season 2! This gives the cast and writers a chance to do better in the next season since they have all this feedback from the fans and critics.**

BTW, the actual story starts like way way way down below. I have a lot to say about the last few episodes of the show and other Shadowhunter related stuff, so if you're here for the story, scroll down until you hit the words** "Chapter 12."**

**Oooh! Oooh! And I READ _LADY MIDNIGHT_ A MONTH AGO AND OMG THE FEELS AARGH CASSIE WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO US?! The book was so much different than TMI and TID, but in a good way, and I had so much fun reading it. I want to talk about it a little bit, so if you haven't read it yet, GO READ IT and then come back, and we can talk about it :)**

* * *

**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR _LADY MIDNIGHT_ BELOW!**

So _Lady Midnight _takes place in 2012 (I think) in Los Angeles, 5 years after the Dark War. Emma is 17 and she lives in the LA Institute. Cristina Rosales is a Shadowhunter who used to live in the Institute in Mexico City. She's spending a year in LA for her required year abroad, but she has a mysterious past that she left behind in Mexico. Helen is still in Wrangel Island with Aline. The Blackthorns are away in England for two months with their Aunt Marjorie at the beginning of the book but they come back to LA within the first couple of chapters. Arthur Blackthorn, their (sick) uncle, runs the Institute and often mistakes Julian as Andrew, his brother and Julian's dad. The Blackthorn kids are all grown up now—Julian is seventeen, Ty and Livvy are fifteen, Dru is thirteen, and Tavvy is seven. Diana Wrayburn (the lady who gave Clary the Morgenstern sword in CoHF) is their tutor, and she teaches the kids during the day as well as trains them. Lastly, Malcolm Fade is the High Warlock of LA and is the Blackthorns' friend.

During the course of_ Lady Midnight_, Emma is certain that Sebastian didn't kill her parents. Someone else did. And when a bunch of other humans and faeries start showing up dead with the same mysterious writing on their bodies like her parents, she's determined to figure out who the killer is.

Meanwhile, Mark Blackthorn was originally sent to be with the Wild Hunt by the Clave, but he comes back to stay with the Blackthorns for three weeks to help them solve the murders. Iarlath, a member of the Unseelie Court, and Kieran, son of the Unseelie King, come to the Institute to drop Mark off and make the following deal: If Mark can't help Emma find the murderer within the 3 weeks, he has to go back to the Wild Hunt. If he does, he can stay with his family forever.

So yeah, this book is basically a murder mystery. It wasn't like TMI at all, since the villain was clearly laid out at the beginning of TMI (Valentine). And also, _Lady Midnight_ isn't really filled with fantasy and adventure and all that. I mean, yeah, there are parts where the Shadowhunters are battling Downworlders and Demons, but it's not like TMI, where a majority of the series was spent exploring the Shadow World. If anything,_ Lady Midnight _is a lot like TID. In both series, the protagonists are trying to figure out who the bad guy is, and they go to parties, set up stake outs to stalk suspects, etc.

One of the reasons why this book was a lot of fun to read was because we already knew the characters in the books. We know Emma and the Blackthorns from TMI, and we know the relationship they have with each other. It was almost as if we were reading a 7th book from TMI. In CoB, Clary was a knew character, Jace was a new character, they all had a new relationship, etc. And we also knew everything (sorta) about the Shadow World, so we didn't have to learn a whole bunch of stuff throughout the book.

**EmmaXJulian:**

Okay, so starting off with Emma and Julian. I ship Emma and Jules SO FREAKING HARD. I love their relationship and chemistry—_they're literally meant to be together._ And I hope Cassie can write around the whole parabatai curse and let them be together. The part at the end where Emma told Julian that they couldn't be together because of the curse and Julian was all like, "Emma, I will never, _never_ give up on you," BROKE MY HEART OMG. Please just let them live happily ever after. He's so good for her.

At first I thought Julian didn't really love Emma the way Emma did. The first 200 pages or something, all we really see is Emma's point of view of how much she loves Julian and how it's consuming her. I thought it would turn out to be a Alec loving Jace type of scenario again. And then we go to Julian's point of view and we find out that he's completely in love with her too, and I was like cheering when I read that part.

And the whole fact that they write on each other's bodies (with their fingers) is SO CUTE! The part when he shows Emma the locked room that's filled with paintings of her, I was like AWWW. I knew that something was up the minute Emma was like, "You never paint me," to Julian at the beginning of the book.

They're just like the perfect couple.

And the part where Gwyn, Iarlath, and Kieran came to the Institute to punish Mark for revealing secret Faerie information to Cristina was so scary. At first they were like "Let's whip Mark," and then Julian's like "No, whip me instead." And then Mark was like, "No, Julian what are you doing?" And then Emma was like, "No, whip me instead." And then Mark was like, "No, Emma what are you doing?" It was sort of confusing at first, lol. But then sh*t got real and Emma actually got whipped and omg Julian's reaction when he woke up *insert crying face here*.

The scene on the beach where Emma and Julian slept together was so beautiful. When Emma went to the convergence, the minute she started drowning on the water, I was like, "NO JULIAN'S GONNA START CHOKING" and sure enough, Julian starts coughing water back at the Institute. But then he came to save her and they kissed and omg that whole scene afterwards was perfect.

**Blackthorn Kids:**

Gah and all the Blackthorn kids are adorable. I can't choose a favorite Blackthorn kid, I love them all so much. Ty is a genius and I love how Livvy is so protective of him. And I love how Dru is into horror/crime movies, and how she's always taking care of baby Tavvy (Okay, Tavvy's not really a baby, he's seven. But in my mind, he's still two years old like in CoHF.) And I love just in general, how the Blackthorn kids protect one another and they work together like clockwork.

Okay and what's up with the Blackthorn family motto LOL?! So you know how the Covenant's motto is **_"The Law is hard, but it is the Law,"_ **right? You know: _**Sed lex, dura lex. **_And then the Blackthorn family motto is all like, **_"A bad Law is no Law."_** _**Lex malla, Lex nulla. **_I found it so hilarious. I mean it shows how against the law the Blackthorns are at the moment, yeah, cause Mark and Helen were wrongfully accused and all. But did the Clave seriously let that be the Blackthorn's motto?! I don't know, I just found that hilarious.

**Mark: (the best character of LM omg)**

Let's talk about Mark. He's such an interesting character. The minute that Iarlath and Kieran came to the Institute with a "rider wrapped head to toe in a hooded robe the color of earth," I knew it was Mark :) At first I got freaked out when Mark wouldn't go near any of the Blackthorns and how he wasn't getting used to life at the Institute. But then, he slowly got used the Shadowhunters, and I found it hilarious that he didn't know any pop culture references and would act like a total goof. After his appearance in CoHF, I immediately was like GO MARK YOU GOT THIS YOU CAN SURVIVE THE WILD HUNT YOU'RE A FREAKING SHADOWHUNTER YEAH SLAY.

**MarkXKieran &amp; MarkXCristina:**

I got spoiled online that Mark and Kieran were a thing before reading the book, so I knew about that ship. But I didn't like them together, so I was glad when Mark "broke up" with him at the end of the book. I do ship Cristina and Mark, however, Cristina ended up making out with Perfect Diego, so that was disappointing.

**MarkXEmmaXJulian:**

And I'm kinda scared at Mark/Emma/Julian's relationship moving forward because of that very last scene. Like I hate that Emma was telling Mark how they had to pretend to be dating, and then Mark closed the door and was like "Why lie?" It felt so creepy that Mark would be like that, especially towards Emma. Maybe Cassie wrote that to show that Mark still has that naughty, careless, faerie self in him. But is Emma actually going to fall for Mark? I know she finds him attractive, and there's that part in the book where Julian and Emma talk about Emma's crush on Mark when she was younger. I'm just worried that if Julian finds out that Mark and Emma are "dating", he's going to lose his trust in Mark, and he'll lose that special relationship he had with his brother. Hopefully they'll pull through just like Will and Jem did when they found out they both loved Tessa.

**Ships In General:**

Okay I just realized, there's actually a lot of love triangle/squares or whatever going around, lol. So Julian and Emma like each other, and then Mark wants to start an actual relationship with Emma. But Mark likes Cristina, and Cristina likes him, too, but she also likes Perfect Diego. And then Kieran likes Mark, but Mark doesn't really like him back anymore. And then Livvy tried to set Julian and Cristina up together, and Emma was dating Cameron Ashdown in the beginning of the book. It's sorta confusing :)

**Cameron Ashdown:**

Speaking of Cameron, I seriously hope we get to see more of him in the next two books. He didn't even show up at all except for that phone call with Emma and I really want to see what type of person he actually is. I mean, the main reason I want to meet him is to find out if he actually is like a llama, lol :)

**Malcolm Fade: (SPOILERS BELOW)**

Moving on, let's talk about Malcolm Fade. I seriously had no idea that he was the big baddie in this book. Cassie said that she purposely wrote Malcolm into the story as a villain, and made him a warlock so that no one would suspect that he was behind all the killings. Basically, she was like, "when we think of a warlock, we think of Magnus, who is caring, and friendly, and helpful to Clary/Jace/Alec/Isabelle/Simon. He's the good guy, he's the guy EVERYONE trusts. So then we just associate all warlocks to be caring, friendly, and helpful."

Evil Cassie -_-

And it didn't help that Malcolm was so similar to Magnus—they both had that flamboyant, eccentric personality, and their names are like exactly the same. They both have names starting with M, and their last names are both four letter words that have a consonant, the letter A, a consonant, and then the letter E. (F—A—D—E and B—A—N—E) Cassie is genius. And honestly, I doubt that Malcolm's dead. I mean he can't be dead, it's only the first book! And plus he's a warlock, so I feel like he has nine lives or something.

**Cristina Rosales:**

Next, I love Cristina so much! So Cristina's a Mexican native, and she has little tidbits where she speaks Spanish, and I'm taking Spanish in school, so basically this was a way for me to practice Spanish XD.

Leave it Cassie to help me study for my midterms and finals :)

I'm kidding. But yeah, I love Cristina's spunk and I'm so glad she and Emma are best friends even though they're complete opposites. I got sad when she was like, "I would have loved to be your parabatai," to Emma and Emma agrees too, even though she has Julian :( I really want to find out what happens with Cristina and Perfect Diego, and Cassie said that Jaime is coming in the next book, so I'm excited to meet him. Speaking of Perfect Diego, I found it hilarious that Emma called him "Perfect Diego" for a while before switching to "Diego." I still call him Perfect Diego, though :)

**Kit: (SPOILERS BELOW)**

And KIT! Omg I almost threw my book across the room when Tessa came with Emma to help Kit and then she called him "Christopher Herondale." I stared at my book in shock and was like, "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, OMFG ASDFGHJKL." He's related to Jace! He's a freaking Herondale! And Johnny Rook was a Herondale! It's so ironic, cause he hated Nephilim, and at the end, he turns out to be one :) I was so happy that it was Tessa who helped Kit, and when she said, "I was Tessa Herondale once," I was like,"OMG THE MEMORIES AW." I can't wait to see if Kit continues training with the rest of the Shadowhunters in the LA Institute, I presume he will. Ooh and maybe he'll become friends with Ty and they'll become parabatai! Oh, that would be awesome.

**A Long Conversation:**

And in my copy of _Lady Midnight_, I got a small short story at the back of the book called "A Long Conversation" with all the characters from TMI. It was so bittersweet to return to those characters and see what they had been up to since the Dark War.

Simon proposed to Izzy!

I remember when Cassie said last year that _Lady Midnight_ had an engagement party, but I always though it would be Alec and Magnus, not Simon and Izzy! Speaking of Alec and Magnus, they adopted a baby warlock and named him Max and they also adopted a baby Shadowhunter and named him Raphael, "Rafe" for short. This whole idea of Alec and Magnus raising kids together is so precious to me :)

Going back to the engagement of Sizzy, it was a lot similar to the AU episode in Shadowhunters, where Simon asked Izzy to move in with him. I loved the short story. I thought it would be a cute Sizzy story, and then at the end I exploded.

Guys...

Jace takes Clary outside the party and then _**ASKS HER TO MARRY HIM. **_

I died. I seriously died. But then Clary **HESITATED AND THEY GOT INTERRUPTED BY MAGNUS BECAUSE THE LA INSTITUTE WAS UNDER ATTACK SO THEY LEFT THROUGH THE PORTAL AND CLARY SAID THAT SHE DREADED GIVING JACE HER ANSWER WHEN THEY GOT BACK.**

Why would Clary dread her answer?! I mean, it's Jace! It should be an automatic HELL YEAH I'LL MARRY YOU!

When I read the part when Magnus interrupted Jace and Clary, I started laughing, cause Magnus is like **_known_ **for interrupting our OTP's moments alone. Like Will and Tessa, twice. Once when they were at Benedict Lightwood's party on the balcony making out and another when they were in Mortmain's lair having sex, hahahaha.

**JemXTessa:**

And we also got to see more Jem and Tessa! I loved how Jem bonded with Emma after her parents died and gave them Church and all those little gifts. Jem and Tessa's appearances made me miss Will so much :( And when Emma was talking about her parabatai ceremony and when Jace and Alec gave speeches, and were talking about all the memories they had together, and then Emma was thinking that one day, she'd be talking about memories she had with Julian. In the middle of all that, Jem got up and went outside, and Tessa hurriedly followed him out. He left because he couldn't handle all that parabatai stuff with Will being dead :( That was so sad :( :( :(

**Just some general things I can't wait to see in the next book:**

**\- Will a cure be found for Arthur? I feel really bad about him. He has this Henry aura, but a he's a little more mad. And he doesn't have a Charlotte to take care of him, he just has Julian, and Julian is barely an adult :/**  
**\- I want to know what Diana did that was against the Clave's law. She was acting so mysterious at the end of the book and I really want to know what happened.**  
**\- What will happen with Julian, Emma, and Mark? Will Emma and Mark actually start a relationship?**  
**\- Will the Blackthorn siblings all be fine? Please Cassie, whatever you do PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT PULL A MAX LIGHTWOOD ON ANY OF THE BLACKTHORN KIDS THEY ALREADY LOST THEIR PARENTS AND HELEN PLEASE I BEG YOU!**  
**\- And Helen! I heard that she and Aline will come in the next book? So I can't wait for their appearance.**  
**\- Is Annabel going to go after the Blackthorns? Will she be reunited with Malcolm? For any TVD fans out there, I pictured Malcolm and Annabel's relationship to be like Silas and Amara's relationship.**  
**\- Will the parabatai curse be a problem again? Will Julian's "ruthless heart" come into play?**  
**\- Hopefully Cameron Ashdown, Kit, Jaime Rosales, and Perfect Diego come into the next two books!**  
**\- And as always, I can't wait to see more TMI character cameos and more Tessa and Jem! Clary needs to accept Jace's proposal!**

Overall, I give _Lady Midnight_ a **96%**. It's pretty good, so if you're not planning to read it, I'll tell you right now, it's worth the read.

Sorry for the long review, I just had so many thoughts about it. Did you guys share any of the same thoughts I did? Please let me know in the review section or PM me! Did I miss anything, or is there anything you want to talk about concerning _Lady Midnight_? Let me know, and I'll get back to you ASAP. Thanks for reading guys :)

* * *

**Next topic of discussion: Shadowhunters - Episodes 9, 10, 11, 12, and the Season Finale (13)!**

**You guys seemed to enjoy my review of the TV show last chapter, so I thought I would do it again for the rest of the season (Episodes 9—13). I'm going to break the review by episode now instead of characters. Same rules apply, if you have something to say that disagrees with any of my comments, just politely say so in your review :)**

**Episode 9 — ****_Rise Up_****: **So we first started off with Simon freaking out about being a vampire, and I REALLY loved Alberto in these scenes. He nails Simon so well, compared to everyone else in the cast. I heard that he (along with Jade Hassoune, the guy who plays Meliorn) are the only two people who have read the **ENTIRE** TMI series. Everyone else in the cast has only read City of Bones and maybe City of Ashes. Maybe that's why Alberto's so good at playing Simon?

After all this stuff with Simon, there was another Clace kiss, but once again, I didn't really feel any chemistry so we'll just skip over that. And then Lydia arrests Meliorn and Izzy instantly brings her "I Hate Lydia Branwell" scale up ten notches. Meanwhile, with Clary/Simon/Jace/Luke/Raphael, Clary unites both the vampires and werewolves in order to stop Valentine, which I thought was really cool. I loved the back and forth between Raphael and Luke where they were like, "play dead, stay, bite me," etc.

So the episode was going on pretty nicely, I wasn't really finding anything TOO weird or strange, and I thought this would turn out to be an episode without any cringe worthy scenes. But then, the last scene just totally screwed me over. It was the scene were Jace and Alec started fighting. First of all, WHY WOULD JACE AND ALEC FIGHT EACH OTHER?! THEY'RE FREAKING PARABATAI. LIKE I GET THAT THEY HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE CLAVE BUT THEY WOULD _**NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER**_ FIGHT EACH OTHER. That whole scene just left me shocked. Jace even was like, "I know what this is about, it's about your feelings for me," to Alec, and I was surprised that Jace knew about Alec's feelings for him. In the first book, Jace had no idea, and I understand that maybe in the TV show, they wanted it to be different, but I still don't see how Jace could have known about Alec liking him.

When Jace asked Alec to come with him, and Alec was like, "No," the camera panned to Jace and his face was twisted up like he was about to cry. That's how I felt! I wanted to cry. Never in a million years would Alec and Jace fight. I mean, yeah it was a cool fight scene and Jace's hair was looking on point during the scene BUT STILL!

**Episode 10 — _This World Inverted_:** I have to say, Episode 10 was so cool! Maybe one of the best in the season so far. And it was all thanks to that alternate universe. Honestly, I would have loved to see a whole TV show season featuring the characters from the alternate universe (let's call it AU now). At first Meliorn took Jace and Clary through the Seelie Glade, and the set looked like what I imagined the Seelie Glade to look like, so that was nice. I was kind of surprised that when Meliorn did faerie magic, he moved his hands around and created mist and stuff just like how Magnus does it. And also with the fact that there is an alternate time dimension, I know for a fact that doesn't exist in the books. But it was fine because I loved this episode.

Oh and get this! So you know the scene with Simon and Luke sitting in Jade Wolf and Simon explains to Luke that he's the new "Vampire ambassador to Werewolves" or whatever? There's that scene where an Asian waitress comes with food and Simon accidentally bares his fangs at her. On the official website for the TV show, they took a screen shot of that waitress and the caption was, _**"One thing we didn't learn: Who IS this gorgeous lady werewolf?! Maia, is that you?..."**_ So I'm guessing that this is the show runners' way of telling everyone that that lady is Maia?! I don't know...

So Clary goes through the Portal and into the AU world, and the minute she enters, she sees Valentine and I love how mundane and normal Valentine is as a regular dad. And then Clary goes to "Java Jace" and she sees Simon. I loved Simon and Clary's friendship in the AU world, it was exactly how I pictured their friendship to be like. And then we see Izzy and Alec, and I FREAKED OUT. Nerdy Izzy and Openly Gay Alec were my lifeeee! I was laughing non stop and OMG IT WAS SUCH A COOL SCENE. And then we see Jace and his fabulous hair :) Clary goes to Magnus's house and we see CHURCH AND CHAIRMAN MEOW. And apparently Harry Shum Jr. is extremely allergic to cats, so I feel bad for him. But there's that scene where Clary imitates Magnus doing magic and she flairs her arms wildly and that was great.

One thing that I really, really, really didn't like was that whole thing with Alec trying to track Jace using his parabatai tracking (which I still don't understand why that's an actual concept in the TV show). Alec asks Hodge to help him, and Hodge is like, "If you use the parabatai tracking, it could weaken your bond with Jace and Alec. And then Alec says something along the lines of, **_"I don't care. Jace is dead to me."_** I was so so shocked. IN WHAT WORLD WOULD ALEC LIGHTWOOD SAY THAT JACE WAS DEAD TO HIM?! As I said before, I know they have their differences, but they're STILL PARABATAI. THEY'RE BROTHERS—THEY LOVE EACH OTHER, WTF?! It seemed so out of character for Alec to do that.

But the whole party scene in the AU world goes by, and I cringed at the fact that this episode was basically just a HUGE sponsor for _Alice Through the Looking Glass_. I mean, they could have just shown the movie poster once and then been done with it, but no in every scene they had something in the background saying _Alice Through the Looking Glass_ or whatever.

Anyways, I love the part where Simon asks Clary if he should ask Izzy to move in with him, and they have this Dracula moment that was adorable. And Jace and Simon HIGH— FIVE each other and I was grinning from ear to ear. And then we get this awesome shot of Izzy dancing so awkwardly and IT WAS AMAZING. Oh and also, when Jace thinks that Clary is cheating on him with Magnus and gets all butt hurt and becomes so emotional, he says things like "Don't ever call me again," and it was so funny!

Seriously though. I NEED a whole season of AU world characters, they're AWESOME.

**Episode 11 — _Blood Calls to Blood_: **Okay. So even though this episode had a cool ending, I still hated every other part of episode. We start off with Jace and Clary meeting Michael Wayland, and the minute that they showed Michael I was like, "Wait, that has to be Valentine in disguise. There's NO WAY that can be Michael Wayland." Even if it was Michael Wayland, there would be so many plot holes and stuff they'd need to work around. Like Michael falling in love with Robert, there would be no incest story, etc. So yeah, in short I was not surprised AT ALL when Valentine revealed himself at the end of the episode.

But I was thinking about this while watching the episode. How did Valentine lock himself in the locker? Like how did he know that Clary and Jace were on their way to his lair? Unless Meliorn called him and was like, "Yo, Jace and Clary are on their way to you right now," there's no way Valentine could have changed into Michael Wayland and stuck himself in a locker in like two minutes. These little things just really get on my nerves.

And then there's the trial with Izzy, and I don't really see how the trial was relevant (like what Magnus says), but I guess the producers just put it in there to show the Clave's authority and introduce the Inquisitor. Speaking of which, what's up with the Inquisitor's major cleavage? That was weird. But yeah, Alec goes to Magnus and asks him to be Izzy's defense attorney. I don't know why he asked Magnus, but it meant more Malec so I wasn't complaining. And then Magnus was like, "you have to pay me first" and Alec was like, "Name your price," and Magnus was like, "You. I'll do you pro bono," or whatever. And that whole thing just got me so annoyed for the following reason:

**I don't understand why the producers made Magnus run after Alec in every episode.** It's weird how Magnus is like, "Alec, love me. Alec, be with me. Alec, do that with me. Alec, do that with me." I feel like Magnus should be playing "hard to get" and if anything, Alec should be drawn to his mysterious ways. Now the producers are making Magnus seem so desperate and vulnerable and I don't like that. It's like when Magnus was saying at the end of the episode. "I get her (Lydia). I like her. But you don't have to marry her. You'll be lonely your whole life, and so will she. Neither of you deserve it." I liked that line from him. It seems like something Magnus would say. But then, he added on, "And I don't either." And that's where I got more mad. That's so selfish of Magnus to say. Magnus in the books would never say anything like that. And besides, Alec and Magnus practically just met, so I don't know why Magnus is acting like he's going to die if Alec marries Lydia. They haven't gone on any dates; their whole relationship is sort of one sided. Maybe if Alec would return Magnus's feelings, I would like it more. In the books, it was always Alec who was more openly drawn to Magnus, not the other way around.

So going back to the episode, Alec tells Magnus he needs to think of another price, and Magnus was like, "Umm...your bow and quiver." Again, I was confused. I didn't see how a bow and quiver would mean anything to Magnus. First of all, in the books Magnus would have helped Alec without any charge, but he asked for his bow and quiver, which made no sense to me. Nevertheless, Alec agrees and Magnus becomes Izzy's defense attorney, we see Lydia (sort of) change her views about the Clave and Magnus/Izzy win the case after the Clave gets the Mortal Cup.

Going back to Jace/Michael/Clary/Luke/Simon, Jace got stung by a Ravener demon back in the AU world, and he needs medical aid ASAP. Apparently an _iratze_ isn't healing him, and Michael declares that Jace needs blood. Now, for some reason, Clary gets this idea to go to Hotel DuMort and get blood from there. I don't see why they need to, when Cassie directly writes in TMI that **there's a blood replacement rune! **But fine, whatever, they go, and Simon ends up blackmailing Raphael into giving him blood. I don't really see Simon blackmailing anyone, really, this early on in the series. I know later on the series, he would be brave enough to blackmail someone, but right now, it seems out of character for him.

At the end of the episode, Clary/Jace/Luke/Michael go to Renwick's to go after Valentine. I liked that the show stuck with the whole Renwick's idea like in the books. Jace/Luke/Michael fight off the demons outside and Clary sneaks inside. She finds her mom, and I liked the little moment she had with her mom before Michael and Jace burst into the room. When I realized that it was only Michael, Jace, and Clary inside the room and Luke was outside, I knew that Michael had to be Valentine in disguise. Clary takes out the Mortal Cup and is all like, "Demons, I command you!" and it sounded like she was talking in a British accent when she said that but okay. She gives the cup to Michael and when nothing happens, lo behold, Michael transforms into Valentine :) (Side note: The minute Alan Van Sprang appeared in the scene, the scene became 100 times better)

Clary reveals that she used a glamour on the cup and the cup turns into a mug that says "World's Best Dad" which was funny. I liked Jace's reaction to finding out that Valentine is his father, I think Dom did a good job of having this look of betrayal, hatred, and hurt all that the same time. Clary, on the other hand, acted as if she didn't care at all, which was weird. I would have thought that Clary would be the one who would be the most hurt. She had no reaction whatsoever that Jace was her brother. It's as if she wanted them to be siblings or something.

Anyways, Jace runs up to Valentine screaming and tries to kill him, but Valentine says, "You can't kill me, you're too weak." That was pretty chilling. Dom and Alan did really good in that scene.

And then for some reason, when Valentine says that Jace can't kill him, Clary runs up to Valentine, all gung—ho, saying, "Well, I can [kill him]!" And I was like, _**"Um, Clary? What are you doing? You can't kill Valentine. Like you physically are incapable of killing him. What, you think that just because you're a Shadowhunter now means you're going to be able to kill the most powerful Shadowhunter on the planet? No! You've been a Shadowhunter for like a week, stop acting as if you're really good at fighting and can kill anyone or anything, jeez."**_

That aside, everyone's back at the Institute. Lydia has the Cup, and Alec and Jace have YET ANOTHER ARGUMENT. GOD I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE WRITERS ARE DOING THIS.

Ugh, anyways, Jace and Clary have a heart to heart, and I agreed with Jace when he felt annoyed that Clary didn't tell him that Valentine was actually Michael. I felt so bad for him when he was like, "There's something wrong with me. I should have been able to see that it was Valentine, not my father." Poor Jace :(

**Episode 12 — _ Malec_: **Ah...the ever so famous Malec episode *sigh*. I'm actually surprised that the producers called this episode Malec. It would have been cool if they had called it something else, so we would have been more surprised during the wedding. It's like, now we know for a fact that there's going to be a Malec moment. I would have liked to be surprised with the kiss, not seen it coming.

The episode started with Izzy planning Alec's wedding, and I found it so cute that she was trying to make everything perfect for the wedding. Clary and Alec have a little bonding time in this episode, which was really fun to watch. Then Magnus calls Alec and tells him to meet him in his apartment. Alec comes over, and Magnus attempts to convince him to stop the wedding. Obviously, it doesn't work because Alec wants to be all angsty and stuff.

So the rest of the gang is looking for a way to wake Jocelyn up. They ask Hodge to find the three other warlocks that are more powerful than Magnus (I didn't understand this part—isn't Magnus one of the most powerful warlocks?) Hodge pulls up a screen of three other warlocks, and they're TESSA, RAGNOR FELL, AND CATARINA LOSS! Jace, Clary, and Magnus go after Ragnor's house (all the way in London, wow) and Clace has this awkward talk throughout the episode about them being brother and sister which was funny. They find Ragnor but he dies after like five minutes by a Shax demon. This was really disappointing. If he was "more powerful than Magnus," why would he die so quickly? I kinda wanted them to include the part where Sebastian and Clary go and visit Ragnor Fell, cause that was fun to read.

Meanwhile, back in the Institute, Jace suspects Lydia of being a mole, and Clary goes to talk to her. Lydia, being the nice girl she is, calmly and politely denies Clary of any suspicions. I'm glad they made Lydia nice and friendly to the gang, I actually liked her a lot. Izzy plans a bachelor party for Alec, but it's really just Alec and Jace talking with each other. I admit, it would have been fun to see Alec have an actual bachelor party with drinks and dancing and stuff. Maybe when they have a Malec wedding? I'm just really glad Jace and Alec made up. This whole parabatai fight thing that was going on between them was really getting on my nerves...

Then it's the actual wedding and omg everyone looked SO GORGEOUS LYDIA AND IZZY SLAYED AND ALEC LOOKED SO HOT anyways, so Lydia's just about to draw the wedding rune on Alec when Magnus bursts into the room (no surprise there). There's like a whole 60 seconds of Alec and Magnus just staring at each other and then finally Alec goes over to Magnus and kisses him and ugh it was so magical. I have to say, the kiss was A LOT better than the Clace kiss.

Everyone's reactions to the kiss was great omg. Clary and Simon were like, "OMG *SQUEAL* MY OTP!" Jace was like, "DAMN SON." And Izzy, omg, I thought Izzy's look was the best. She looked so freaking proud and also relieved that her brother had finally come out and wasn't living with this weight on his shoulders any longer.

I felt so bad for Lydia though! Like she literally just got stood up at the altar, and especially since her last husband (or fiance) died. But she's very good natured about Alec and Magnus, and doesn't get upset at all (BLESS YOU LYDIA). She goes back to her room to go back to Idris and deliver the cup to the Clave but Hodge intercepts her and knocks her out. He uses this ring (?) to talk to Valentine and tell him he has the cup. And the episode ends with a daunting look from Alan Van Sprang (ooh).

**Episode 13 — _Morning Star_: **Okay the finale was awesome but I still hated it because it left me wanting Season 2 so bad and we have to wait more than 6 months before it airs ughhhh...The episode started with more Jace and Clary arguing over Jocelyn and Valentine and I have to say, Dom's acting improved a lot by this episode. Alec has a talk with his parents and Robert and Maryse reprimand Alec for choosing Magnus, since his reputation is questionable. Alec goes back to Magnus and they have a little talk before they discover Lydia lying unconscious in Robert's office. She whispers "Hodge" to them, and Izzy checks the CCTV footage. Sure enough, the find videos of Hodge attacking Lydia and stealing the Cup. This puts Jace on full rage mode and he's out to kill. They call Luke, and Luke blames himself for letting Hodge get the Cup. He tells his pack to go find Hodge, but to bring him alive.

Hodge arrives at Valentine's boat to deliver the Cup. He asks to Valentine to remove his curse, and Valentine does so. Valentine also gives the Cup to a mundane, who ends up turning into a Shadowhunter. He tells that guy to go find Jace and Clary so they can all be reunited (ooh), and Hodge is like, "Yo, can I join you?" and Valentine's like, "Hell no. Get out of my sight." Hodge gets mad and accuses Valentine of lying to him. He pleads with Valentine and says that he'll be hunted by the Clave if he doesn't get protection from the Clave, but Valentine says that with the Mortal Cup in his hands, the Clave soon won't be a problem (ooh). I really liked this scene, because it showed how ruthless Valentine is and it really did set up the scene for Season 2.

Simon, Izzy, and Clary go to Hotel DuMort to see Camille, since she knows where the Book of White is. As expected, Raphael says no, but Simon and Clary sneak into the room with Camille's coffin and wake her up. She tells Climon that she doesn't know what or where exactly the Book of White is, but it's probably somewhere in her apartment on the Upper East Side (THAT GOSSIP GIRL REFERENCE OMG hahaha sorry).

Jace, Alec, and Luke go after Hodge and we get this cool fight scene between Jace and Hodge. Of course, Jace's hair comes back in action, and at the end of the fighting, Jace cuts Hodge's hand off. He's about to kill Hodge, too, but Alec intervenes. Jace runs off with Hodge and uses Hodge's ring to talk to Valentine, telling him that he's going to go after him. Alec calls Jace and tries to make Jace see reason and convince him that he's not like Valentine. Jace doesn't listen, and as much as I didn't want Jace to go with Valentine, I think the scenes where Jace is sure that he's just like Valentine were all really good.

Simon, Clary, and Camille all try to leave Hotel DuMort but Raphael and the other vampires stop them. Izzy comes to save the day, smashing the wall to create a sun ray that separates the two groups. I loved that Izzy was back in action in this episode and not sticking around the Institute any longer. We didn't really get to see much of her fighting in this season, it was mostly everyone else, so I'm glad she got a bigger role in the finale. The group all goes back to Magnus's loft and Camille kisses Magnus right in front of Alec. Alec, of course being Alec, just ignores her and moves on with the mission. Camille tells Clary that she'll help her find the Book of White if Simon signs a contract stating that he allowed Camille to turn him and that she didn't do anything illegal. Simon, having no choice, even though Camille did illegally turn him, signs the contract. They go to Camille's apartment, where she reveals to Clary that she doesn't even know where the Book of White is. After she disappears, Clary goes through the tall shelves of books, trying to find the right one.

Meanwhile Jace contacts Valentine again and Valentine tells him that he's coming after his friends. Jace panics, calls Clary, and tells her to leave Camille's place immediately. Clary, being ever so stubborn, refuses and continues looking for the Book of White. In like a matter of 30 seconds, Clary and Simon find a cookbook that changes into the Book of White. They're just about to leave when Valentine comes into the room and holds all of Clary's friends hostage. Jace runs in at that moment and makes a deal with Valentine to go with him in order for his friends' freedom. I found it weird how Izzy, Alec, and Simon, all got captured so easily. They're Shadowhunters (and a vampire), they should at least put up a fight or something!

Nevertheless, Jace leaves with Valentine and Clary breaks down. The group goes back to the Institute, and Climon have a small heart to heart. I sense some Climon coming in Season 2! They wake Jocelyn up and Clary and her mom have a tearful reunion. Then the camera cuts to Valentine talking to his "Shadowhunter army" while Jace stands awkwardly next to him. The episode ends with the camera zooming out on Valentine's boat, WHICH IS EXACTLY LIKE THE BOAT I IMAGINED IN TMI! Good job producers! At least you got that part right!

And there goes the end of Season 1...It was pretty fun season, kinda lower than my expectations, but pretty fun overall. I definitely like the movie better still, but I can't wait until Season 2! OMG IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! On Instagram, the writer/creator for the series, Ed Decter, released some things that the producers will incorporate into Season 2:

**\- Jace will go through a lot.**  
**\- Camille won't be a threat to Malec. She'll be a threat to Raphael and the other vampires.**  
**\- There will be Clary and Jocelyn drama where Clary feels lied to while Jocelyn believes she was protecting Clary.**  
**\- There will be a moment with the Seelie Queen and Clace.**  
**\- There's a lot in store for Maureen.**  
**\- More Jocelyn and Luke.**  
**\- New characters including the Seelie Queen.  
\- But no Sebastian until Season 3 :(**

GUYS OMG THIS LIST THOUGH. MAUREEN MIGHT TURN INTO A VAMPIRE AND THE CLACE KISS IN THE SEELIE COURT WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN AND GAHHHH SEASON 2 WHERE ARE YOUUUU?!

**Thanks for reading so much guys, I know I write a lot XD. If you have anything to add on, or something to comment about on my recap, hit me up in the review section or PM me! I'll get back to you guaranteed :) **

* * *

**Anyways, getting back to the story, whew, those reviews were really long, now that Clary and Jace have decided to take a break, she can spend more time with Simon and maybe bring him in the know about the Shadow World. We'll also get some Sizzy and Clizzy and we'll address the whole student exchange trip to France and what it holds for Clary.**

**Also a certain Shadowhunter named Sebastian will come into play this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Clary POV**

Clary returned to school after the weekend with a clean slate. She tried to forget everything that happened at the Seelie Court and her argument with Jace. Finals were coming up, and Clary hadn't been focusing much on her schoolwork ever since her mom disappeared.

Clary waved bye to Luke and hopped out of his pickup truck. She headed towards the front gates of the school, and ducked inside with the other students. Heading towards her locker, she thought about what she would do if she saw Jace.

_Just act normal—like nothing ever happened,_ she thought, exhaling slowly. As she opened her locker, Simon came up to her, hunching his backpack over one shoulder.

"Hey Simon," she smiled at him. "How was your weekend?"

"Hey," Simon greeted. "Just the usual. The band got this gig at the bookstore down the street from my house and we actually made good money." He added. "I texted you if you could come, but you didn't exactly respond..."

"Oh," Clary felt horrible. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see your text. I wasn't feeling very well, so..."

"Well, I texted Izzy, too, and she didn't respond either," Simon frowned. "What's going on with you guys?"

"What do you mean? Nothing," Clary forced a weak smile. "I'm sure Izzy was busy with her own stuff. Don't worry about it."

Simon pressed his lips in a tight line. It was obvious to Clary that he was upset at her for not telling him the whole truth, but she thanked him silently for keeping it to himself.

"Come on, we should head to homeroom," Clary said, taking some books out of her locker and shutting it closed. "Speaking of Isabelle, did you ever talk to her about what I said to you over the phone the other day? About DTR and all that?"

"Uh...no," Simon admitted. "No, we haven't."

"Simon!" Clary exclaimed. "It's really important!"

"I know, I just haven't gotten the guts to do so."

"Okay, seriously, Simon. You have to do it. Forget about the little butterflies in your stomach. Your relationship is on the line!" Clary scolded him, purposely making it more dramatic than it needed to be.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it," Simon chuckled. "Oh, and by the way, the student exchange trip to France is coming up in less than a month. Are you even going?"

"Um," Clary thought about it. She had really wanted to go, but it didn't seem possible now. Her mom was still missing, and Valentine was on the loose. But then again, it was just for three weeks. And Maryse had promised she would be with a Shadowhunter family, so everything would be fine. She'd get time to clear her head and spend time away from Jace and everything with Valentine and her mother.

"I don't know," Clary said truthfully. "I really want to go, but I still have to ask Luke."

"Luke?" Simon raised his eyebrows. "Why does it matter to Luke if you go or not?"

"Oh, yeah...um...I mean _my mom_ and Luke," Clary hastily added.

"Well, if you're planning on going," Simon nodded towards the door of the office, which they were passing by at the moment, "You should hurry and get those permission slips signed. They're due tomorrow."

"Wait, what?" Clary looked over his shoulder and groaned. "Ugh...okay, I just have to persuade Luke by tonight."

"And your mom," Simon added, looking confused as to why Clary kept leaving her mom out of the picture.

"Yes, right, and my mom." The bell rang, and Simon and Clary walked into homeroom. As she sat down, Clary couldn't help but notice that neither Jace nor Isabelle had shown up to homeroom yet. Their desks were both empty.

Just then, Isabelle came running in, her black locks bouncing around her face. "Hey," she smiled and sat down at her desk next to Clary, right as the tardy bell rang.

"What happened? Why are you late?" Clary whispered to her.

"Alec's car wouldn't start, so we had to take the subway," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "And of course, taking the subway when you're late takes forever."

Clary smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." She glanced over at Jace's empty desk. "Um, where's...Jace?"

"About that," Isabelle set her books down on her desk and crossed her arms. "Is something going on between you two?"

"Hmm?" Clary feigned innocence. "No, nothing. Why?" Her voice sounded higher than usual.

"Um, 'cause Jace refused to go to school today. And he's usually jumping at every chance to see you."

"Oh...nothing's wrong, I swear. And besides, it's _you_ that needs to sort things out with Simon. You guys need to have a talk."

"Yeah," Isabelle exhaled. "I'm not really good at that."

"Seriously?" Clary gave her a look. "What is up with you guys and not talking to each other?" She opened her textbook as the teacher walked into the classroom. "Look, Simon really cares for you Izzy, and I'm sure you feel the same way. Just push your worries aside and sort things out."

Isabelle nodded and looked over her shoulder, where Simon was talking with the teacher. She turned back around and put her head in her hands. "He hates me."

"No, he doesn't," Clary protested. "Just meet him after school or something. He'll listen to you."

The rest of homeroom passed, and unfortunately Simon didn't cast a single glance over at Isabelle. Clary didn't have the next period with Simon or Isabelle so she tried to catch Simon before he left to his next period, but he was the first one out the door.

Clary waved goodbye to Isabelle and went down the hall to her next class. It just so happened that this class had the most boring teacher in their school, and of course Clary had managed to get stuck with him. She trudged to her desk in the back of the room and slumped down into her seat.

The teacher got the class' attention and started his lecture. Suddenly feeling a wave of sleepiness washed over her and Clary yawned, ignoring her teacher's droning voice and putt her head onto her arms on her desk.

_Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a minute,_ she thought, drifting into a light slumber.

_Clary opened her eyes and found herself standing on a cobblestone street that was so narrow, she was unsure that a car could even fit through it. She looked around, and saw people walking around speaking in a language that wasn't English._

Is that French?_ Clary frowned. She looked up and at the top of the building to her right and saw a French flag waving proudly in the breeze._

_"I'm in France..." she said aloud, walking forward until she hit the main street. At the end of the avenue, unmistakably stood a tall metal structure that shot into the sky. The Eiffel Tower._

_"Or more accurately, Paris," she exhaled, looking around her. The people who were walking around her were wearing modern clothes and carrying cellphones, but as they seemed to be walking around Clary as if she wasn't standing there at all._

_Clary looked down at her clothes and found herself wearing Shadowhunter gear. There was a glamour rune on her arm, which explained why the mundanes couldn't see her. She tried searching for her cellphone, but it wasn't on her. However, there was something in her hand. She lifted it up and saw that it was a folded piece of paper. She opened it and on it was a name written in a cursive scrawl: _

Musée Marmottan Monet.

_Clary's gut instinct told her that she needed to find this place. Going up to a a vendor on the street that was handing out maps of Paris to tourists, she swiped one of the maps from him and opened it up, trying to find the place on the paper. As she followed the directions on the map, it took her about half an hour until she came across a lavish mansion sitting behind a bright green lawn. There was a pathway that led up to the front door and the sign on the street read the same words on the paper. Even though any passerby might think that the building was a museum for Claude Monet, Clary saw the all-too familiar angelic rune inscribed behind the words on the plaque._

_Clary grinned and ran up the path, all the way to the front door. She was just about to place her hand on the door itself to enter, when it opened, revealing a tall, muscular boy with raven black hair. Clary looked up into his eyes and was slightly startled to see that they were black as well. The boy smiled down at her warmly._

_"Welcome to the Paris Institute, Clary. I think you'll be happy to hear that I know where your mother is."_

_"You do?" Clary's face lit up. "Wait...how do you know who I am?"_

_"Everyone know's your name, Clary. You're practically famous in the Shadow World." The boy extended his arm out. "I'm Sebastian, by the way."_

_Clary blinked, staring at Sebastian. He cocked his head to the side and frowned._

_"Are you okay? Clary? Clary!"_

"Clary!"

Clary woke up with a start, lifting her head up to see her teacher and all the other students staring back at her.

"Is everything okay?" Her teacher asked, eyeing her. "I'd appreciate it if you stayed awake during class."

"Sorry," she mumbled, sitting back in her chair. The images from her dream kept replaying in her head, and glanced at her phone, feeling the need to text Isabelle about what she saw.

She looked up at her teacher, "Can I go use the bathroom?"

"Uh...sure..."

"Thanks," Clary got out of her seat and hurried out of the classroom. She texted Isabelle on the way, saying, "Meet me in the girl's bathroom by the cafeteria, now."

She entered the bathroom and leaned against one of the sinks, trying to make sense of what she just saw in her dream. After a couple of minutes, the door opened and Isabelle came in, looking concerned.

"Hey, I got your text. What's wrong?"

"I just had another dream," Clary said. "In the middle of class."

Isabelle gave her a confused look. "Wait, like the one with the Seelie Court?"

"Sort of, but not really. I'm not really sure what it means. I was in Paris, wearing Shadowhunter gear, and I had this paper in my hand that read _Musée Marmottan Monet_, which is a museum in Paris about Claude Monet. But when I went there, Sebastian Verlac opened the door and he told me that it was actually the Paris Institute. And he said something about me being famous, but more importantly, he said he knew where my mother was."

Isabelle nodded, trying to digest everything Clary just said. "Do you think that this has something to do with the student exchange program?"

"I don't know, it could. Maybe this is a sign telling me that I have to go the Paris Institute to find out where my mom is."

"Maybe. Hold on, didn't Jace say that Kaelie really wanted you to go to France?"

"Yeah..."

"So what if this is all a set up? What if—" Isabelle got cut off as the door opened and another girl walked into the bathroom. She gave Clary and Isabelle a weird look before entering a stall. Isabelle lowered her voice and continued. "What if going to France is just walking into a trap—a trap set by Valentine?"

"I can't think that. The last dream I had told me to go to the Seelie Court, and I ended up finding—"

"Don't say 'finding answers' because we didn't find any there."

"Maybe not, but I have to try, Izzy. I need to find my mom," Clary ran her hands through her hair. The stall door opened and the girl came out, walking over to the sink. She cleared her throat and said, "Excuse me."

"Oh, sorry," Clary moved away from the sink and the girl turned on the faucet to wash her hands.

"Look, maybe you should just tell all this to my mom. She'll figure out what to do. You can come by the Institute after school." Isabelle moved aside to let the girl leave the bathroom.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks."

"Okay, I better get back to class before my teacher wonders where the hell I am."

"Me, too." Clary and Isabelle exited the bathroom and went their separate ways after saying goodbye to one another.

* * *

**Simon POV**

Simon had seen Isabelle walk into homeroom in the beginning of the day and sit down next to Clary. He tried to ignore her and focus on what his teacher was telling him, but his mind kept drifting over to her. _Maybe I can play hard-to-get or something,_ he thought. His teacher finished up, and handed him a piece of paper. Simon simply nodded, not really sure of what his teacher had said in the past ten minutes.

He walked back to his seat, careful to avoid Isabelle's concerned stare. Homeroom came and went, and so did all of Simon's other classes. He only had a few periods with Isabelle, and by lunch she started to catch the drift that he didn't really want to talk to her.

That changed, however, when Simon was standing outside the building after school, waiting for Eric to pick him up so they could go to his house to practice with the band.

"Simon!" Isabelle called out, walking towards him. Simon froze and looked around, seeing if there was a bush he could hide behind or something. But, Isabelle had already seen him, and she was less than 10 feet away.

"Hey," she said as she came up to him. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you at all during school."

_Wow, her hair's looking really pretty today._ Isabelle's hair was one of the things Simon liked the most of her. Of course, she had a killer body and a terrific smile and beautiful eyes, and a great personality, but her hair was always perfect. It was long, and wavy, and she styled it in so many ways, but Simon liked it the best when it was hanging down her back, loose and carefree._ Like Isabelle,_ he thought.

"Yeah," Simon merely nodded. "I was busy."

"You seemed upset," she shifted her eyes uncomfortably. _Isabelle, uncomfortable? Now, that's a first._ "And not just today, but just the past few weeks in general. I think we should talk about it. I haven't been spending much time with you lately," she looked up at him. "And I know that you're mad that Clary, Jace, Alec, and I are spending a lot of time together, but there's a good reason for that, trust me."

"Okay," Simon said. "When can I know the reason?"

"Soon," Isabelle answered after a few seconds. "Maybe not at the moment, but soon."

"Alright," Simon leaned against the railing behind him and tried to act cool by stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Thank you." He recalled the conversation he had with Clary on the phone the other day. "Now, I have something to talk to you about."

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of me as?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like am I 'Simon Lewis, some kid in my homeroom,' or 'Simon Lewis, Clary's nerdy friend,' or—"

"What are you talking about? You're 'Simon Lewis, my nerd-hot boyfriend,'" Isabelle replied with her eyebrows raised.

_Simon Lewis, my nerd-hot boyfriend._ It had a nice ring to it, he had to admit. He repeated the line over in his head and his cheeks grew warm. "Wait, you think I'm hot?"

"Yeah," Isabelle's smile grew wider. "Why, you don't?"

"Yes...I mean, no. I'm not self centered," he stammered.

Isabelle laughed and Simon suddenly felt warm and fuzzy inside. Isabelle's laugh was the kind of laugh that made you feel like you were listening to your favorite song, the laugh that made you feel happy with your life—the laugh that made you forget about all the bad things and only remember the good things.

"Simon, if you're unsure if I even consider you as my boyfriend, then that's another thing we have to work on," Isabelle's hands were laced together. Simon eyed them and his mind screamed at him, _Grab her hands, you idiot!_ His hands shot out of their pockets and grasped hers.

"Is there anything else?" Isabelle asked.

"Um...yeah," Simon nodded. "How come you never let me come to your house, or meet your family? I mean, I've met Alec, yeah, but that's it. You've been to my house a couple of times, you've met my mom, and you met my sister while we were FaceTiming a couple of weeks ago," he frowned. "Is there a reason for that?"

"Uh...yeah," Isabelle said slowly. "It sort of has to do with the whole thing with Clary, Jace, Alec, and I."

"Oh," Simon said. "So I'm not even allowed to see your house or meet your parents?"

"Not yet, anyway," Isabelle assured him. "But you will in the future."

"After you and your brothers sort things out with Clary?" Simon scoffed.

"Simon—"

"No, it's okay. I'll stop," he shook his head.

"I swear, everything will make sense soon," Isabelle looked down at their joined hands. "I'm really glad we sorted all this stuff out."

"Yeah, me too," Simon agreed. "Hey, you know, we've never actually been on a date before..."

"A date?" Isabelle echoed, looking concerned.

"What? Don't tell me you've never been on one," Simon laughed jokingly. But when Isabelle didn't return his smile, he grew serious. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah," Isabelle confessed.

"Oh...wow," Simon was surprised. "Well, there's a lot of things we can try then. We can get fro-yo, or go see a movie, or go to a fancy restaurant, go bowling, rollerskating—anything, really."

"Awesome," Isabelle smiled. "I look forward to it." She leaned in slightly. "Thank you, Simon, for everything. You're pretty amazing, you know?"

Simon grinned, and suddenly the reality of the situation sunk in. He was dating the hottest, most brilliant, girl on the planet. _Him_. Simon Lewis. He was the luckiest guy in the world.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he murmured, and leaned in, capturing Isabelle's mouth as his hands traveled up to her hair.

* * *

**Clary POV**

Clary was sitting in the Institute's library, staring at her hands. After Alec, Isabelle, and her had arrived at the Institute, Isabelle had told Clary to wait in the library while she went to go get her mother. Clary had nodded, and went to the library crossing her fingers she wouldn't bump into Jace on the way. Lucky for her, she didn't.

As she lounged on one of the easy chairs, she pulled out her phone and called Simon, hoping to get a hold of him.

"Hey Clary," Simon's voice crackled through the speaker.

"Hey Simon, I just called to ask if maybe you wanted to go out tonight?"

"What do you mean go out?" Simon asked. "Like to Java Jones?"

"No, I was kind of thinking...like a club or something?"

"A club?" Simon sounded surprised. "Clary, you know me. I don't do clubs."

"Please Simon?" Clary said. "I'll ask Izzy, too. You guys are good now, right?"

"Yeah," Simon said quietly. "I don't know, Clary. It's a weeknight and all."

"I don't care. I just need to, like, let loose—take a break or something. Keep my mind off of my responsibilities for just one night."

Simon sighed on the other end of the phone. "Fine, I'll go."

"Yes! Thank you so much. You're the best."

"I know. So wait, where exactly do you want to go?"

"Um," Clary said sheepishly. "I don't know, do you know any places around town..."

"Here, I'll look up some clubs online." Clary heard a few clicking noises from Simon's keyboard and he spoke up again.

"Well, according to Google, the only all-ages club in Brooklyn is this place called Pandemonium. And it closes at 2 am, so we should be fine."

"Pandemonium?" Clary echoed. "Never heard of it. Whatever, let's just go there. Text me the address, I'll meet you there in, like, an hour? I have to take care of something first."

"Yeah sure," Simon nodded. "I'll see you there."

Clary grinned and hung up the phone just as Maryse walked into the library, followed by Alec and Isabelle.

"Hello Clary," Maryse stopped in front of her. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Hi," Clary smiled and got out of her seat. "It's about our school's student exchange trip to France. I was just wondering if I could still go."

"The student exchange trip?" Maryse crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, Clary. But I don't think that's quite possible now."

"Look, I know that you think that it's dangerous for me to leave New York," Clary began, "but trust me, I need to—"

"Clary," Maryse interrupted her. "You leaving New York is the least of our worries." She looked at Alec and Isabelle before turning back to Clary. "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you this earlier, but last night, I received a fire message from the Clave."

"Did something happen?" Alec asked.

"I'm afraid so. Apparently, Elodie Verlac went missing a few days ago from the Paris Institute."

Alec and Isabelle shared a scared look as Maryse continued.

"Sebastian, her nephew if you remember, reported to the Clave that Elodie was gone when he woke up in the morning. According to him, it was unusual that she would just leave like that, since Elodie was known for rarely leaving the Institute. She didn't leave a note behind either. The Clave dismissed his call at first, but when she didn't return in 72 hours, the case was reopened. As of now, Sebastian is the acting head of the Institute."

"Do they have any clues as to where Elodie might be?" Isabelle asked anxiously.

"None," Maryse shook her head. "It's as if she disappeared into thin air." She looked at Clary. "That's the main reason why you can't go to France, Clary."

"No, you don't understand!" Clary protested. "I have to go to France, I—" she paused and swallowed. "I had another dream today. Like the one with the Seelie Court."

"Did you see Jocelyn?" Maryse frowned.

"No, but this time I was in Paris. I was went to this tall mansion—it looked like a museum to all the mundanes that were walking around, but it wasn't, it was— "

"The Paris Institute," Maryse finished. She sighed, coming forward. "What else happened?"

"I met Sebastian Verlac. He told me that he found my mom," Clary said. "Maryse, I think my mom's in Paris."

Maryse inhaled sharply and bit her lip. She thought for a second, before spinning on her heel. "I need to tell the Clave about this."

"Does that mean I can go to France?" Clary asked hopefully. She followed Maryse to the open doors.

"I don't know," Maryse said truthfully. "That's up to the Clave. But I wouldn't get your hopes up, because there's nowhere for you to stay in Paris with the protection of the Nephilim."

"Wait, why can't I stay in the Paris Institute? You said yourself that Sebastian is the acting head—"

"Absolutely not."

Clary craned her neck, looking over Maryse's shoulder, and saw Jace standing in the doorway, his fists clenched at his sides.

"There's no way in hell that you are going to stay with Sebastian Verlac."

"Why not? Do you even know him?" Clary scowled.

"No," Jace admitted.

"So then why does it matter?" she reasoned.

"What Jace is trying to say," Maryse cut in, "is that just Sebastian Verlac all by himself is not even nearly enough protection from Valentine." When she saw Clary's shoulders droop, she hurriedly added, "I'll still talk to the Clave and try to reason with them, but it's the most I can do from my end."

Clary murmured a thanks and Maryse left the library, but Alec and Isabelle lingered behind, eyeing Jace, who still stood in the doorway with an upset look on his face. He came up to her furiously but stopped when he was just about a foot away from her.

"I can't believe you would risk your own life like that."

"I don't need to take advice from you. I can take care of myself. I'm seventeen years old and I'm a Shadowhunter," Clary crossed her arms, challenging him.

"No, you're not," Jace fired back. "You've been a Shadowhunter for a less than two months. If you think that you stand a chance against Valentine and his men, you'd be wrong. You're nothing compared to them."

Clary fumed at his comment. She'd seen Jace mad before but never like this. "Well, I can't just stop looking for my mom."

Jace scoffed. "You are going to get yourself killed."

"Yeah? Well I guess then you'll be glad that Valentine's daughter isn't a threat anymore," Clary spat, referring to Jace's uncertainty of her loyalty to the Nephilim. Jace clenched his jaw and stormed out of the room.

"I'll talk to him," Alec assured Clary, running out of the library.

* * *

**Alec POV**

"Jace, wait," Alec caught up to his parabatai and wheeled him around. "Slow down."

"I can't believe her," Jace shook his head bitterly. "She thinks that she can just run around, pretending that she's invincible—"

"She's not being naive, if that's what you're thinking," Alec interrupted. "Jace, she's desperate to find her mother. She'll do anything—risk anything—to find her. Surely you know that?"

Jace was quiet. "Then why is she acting as if it's my fault? I know it's not my decision to say whether or not she gets to go to France, but she needs to realize that the world out there is dangerous, and—" he looked up at Alec. "Doesn't she realize I'm doing all this to _protect_ her?"

"Well, you're acting as if she's not good enough."

"I know she's capable of taking care of herself, even if she isn't as well trained as us, but accidents can still happen to anyone," he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I just don't want her to get hurt, or worse—"

"Do you love her, Jace?"

Jace looked up, startled at Alec's question. "I...I do."

"Then tell her that," Alec instructed him. "Stop being an idiot, and tell her that. And fix whatever it is that is going on between you two. If you really care for each other, you wouldn't be fighting right now."

"I know," Jace thought for a moment, then started walking down the hall. "I'm going to my room. Thank you, Alec."

Alec just nodded as he stared at Jace's retreating figure going down the hall.

* * *

**Clary POV**

Isabelle turned to Clary, her mouth open as Alec chased after Jace out of the library.

"What is up with you two?" Isabelle exclaimed. Clary flushed and averted her gaze from her, looking to the ground and feeling her cheeks turn hot.

"I thought you said that everything was fine between you guys." When Clary didn't answer Isabelle continued, "Clary, Jace really does care about you. You need to realize that. Remember what I said? That everything you do affects him in every way possible? You guys _need_ to fix this."

"Yeah..." Clary said quietly, walking towards the door. "I'm going to catch a taxi back to Brooklyn. Text me if your mom hears back from the Clave." She stopped and realized where she was going.

"Hey, Izzy?" she turned around and faced Isabelle again. "Simon and I were thinking of going to a club tonight...do you wanna come?"

Isabelle chuckled, "You don't even have to ask, hon. Come on, I'll find us something to wear."

"Us?" Clary echoed. "Oh, I was just thinking of wearing—"

Isabelle raised a hand in protest. "No, we're not discussing this any further. Let's go."

Clary sighed and trudged after Isabelle. Approximately 20 minutes later, Clary emerged from Isabelle's room wearing a strapless navy blue crop top and tight black leather pants. Out of Isabelle's enormous closet, this was the modest thing that Clary could find. However, thankfully, Clary's heels weren't nearly as tall as Isabelle's knee high boots, who, on the other hand, was wearing a slinky black dress that hugged her thighs.

"So where exactly are we going?" Isabelle asked once the two girls were seated in the backseat of a taxi.

"Um," Clary racked her brain for the name. "God, I forgot what it was called...it started with the letter P, I think." She rattled off the address that Simon gave her to the taxi driver.

Isabelle gave her an uncertain look. "Okay, but as long as we're not going to a strip club..."

Clary raised her eyebrows—Isabelle definitely seemed like the type of girl to be completely fine with going to a strip club.

"I say that for Simon's sake," she added after seeing Clary's look.

The car ride didn't last long due to the lack of traffic and soon the girls found themselves in front of a tall building with a neon lit sign. Clary gave the driver the money for the ride and the girls got out of the car. Clary immediately tried spotting Simon in the crowd of people at the entrance, but when she couldn't see him, she turned to Isabelle for help.

"Can you see Simon anywhere?" Clary said over the booming music. But Isabelle's face a queer expression on her face. She was looking up at the sign of the club and Clary frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Clary," Isabelle said. "You didn't tell me we were going to Pandemonium."

"What's wrong?"

"This is nightclub that _demons_ _go to to mix with mundanes_. Jace, Alec, and I used to come here all the time to hunt demons."

"What?!" Clary looked up at the sign of the club. It said read PANDEMONIUM in big flashing letters, but the P—A—N and the I—U—M were a different color than D—E—M—O—N, emphasizing the word DEMON.

"Oh, crap," Clary swallowed hard and looked at Isabelle. "I'm so sorry...I had no idea. Simon said that it was the only club in town that was all-ages, so I thought..."

"It's fine," Isabelle walked towards the entrance. "We just need to find Simon and get out of here before he gets in trouble."

"Okay," Clary pulled out her phone and sent at text to Simon that read, _We're at the entrance. Where are you?_ Minutes later, he responded, saying, _I'm inside by the bar. Get in here, this place is sick._

"Izzy, he's already inside," Clary said worriedly.

"Tell him to come out."

Clary did so, but she received no response from Simon. She shook her head frustratedly at Isabelle, but the girl just calmly nodded.

"Okay, come on." Isabelle pulled Clary's crop top further down her chest and reached up to pull out her hair from its ponytail so it tumbled down her shoulders in red waves.

Clary yelped and jumped back, covering her chest. "What are you doing?"

"You got to look like you belong in there," Isabelle gestured to the club. She pulled her dress down further as well and took Clary's hand, pushing their way to the bouncer.

"Hey big guy," Isabelle purred, smiling at the burly man. Clary tried her best to copy Isabelle's smile. The bouncer glanced down at Isabelle's chest and smirked appreciatively. Clary gaped at the man and felt like slapping him as he stepped aside to let the two pass. Isabelle dragged Clary inside the venue, and the music swelled to a louder volume. There were people dancing everywhere—dressed in gothic clothing, wearing bright makeup, colorful wigs and hairstyles, leather vests, and drinks in almost everyone's hands.

The girls pushed through the crowd and Clary stood on her tiptoes, searching for the bar. She found it alongside the wall on her right and tugged on Isabelle's dress. They made their way to the counter, and Clary scanned the crowd for Simon. There didn't seem to be anyone at the bar except for a small group of girls. Clary shared a look with Isabelle, who sighed.

"Let's split up. Text me when you find him," she told Clary and walked off in the opposite direction. Clary pulled out her phone and sent a text to Simon asking where he was. Once again, he didn't answer.

_No point calling him, there's no way he can hear his ringtone over this music,_ she thought. She continued to go through the throng of dancers until she noticed a curtain that separated the club from another room. People seemed to be going back and forth between the two rooms, so Clary decided to follow them inside.

When she ducked past the curtain, she emerged into another room that was fairly empty. There were some booths around the room and the space in the middle was bare. Clary looked at all the booths and almost cried out in alarm when she saw Simon. He was sitting in one of the booths, surrounded by a bunch of women. Some of them were just sitting next to him, but some of them—

Clary surged forward and cleared her throat. "Simon!"

Neither Simon nor any of the women he was sitting next to seemed to hear her over the music, or notice her, for that fact.

"Simon?"

Clary whirled around and saw Isabelle standing behind her. Clary expected to see a look of hurt on her face, but instead she had no emotion whatsoever. Simon continued making out with the women, completely unaware of what was going on. Clary's mouth opened and she looked down at the table, where there were empty glasses and bottles. _How many drinks did he have?_ she thought. _We were only a couple of minutes late._

Isabelle shoved the table aside and pulled the woman off of Simon. Simon blinked and looked around, as if he was taking in his surroundings for the first time. He looked over at the women sitting next to him and frowned, immediately getting up and wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Whoa, what the hell?" he looked straight and saw Isabelle and Clary. "Oh my god, Izzy. I'm so sorry. I don't—"

"What the hell is your problem?" The woman sitting on Simon's right glared at Isabelle. Clary stared at her face. She had long bright purple hair that tumbled down her body and her eyes were—_wait a second._ There was something off about her. Something off about all the women in the booth, now that Clary thought about it. She looked at Isabelle to see if she figured out what it was, and sure enough, Isabelle's eyes widened.

"Shit," Isabelle said and Clary looked down to see her electrum bracelet slide down her wrist into her hand.

The women at the booth seemed to realize who Clary and Isabelle were, too. "_Nephilim_," one of them hissed and leaped forward, shrieking. Isabelle's whip shot out and grabbed the demon by its neck. She brought the whip towards her again and the demon's head came off.

Clary looked back at the booth and all of a sudden the women were crawling towards her, leaving Simon alone in the both. Simon stared at Isabelle fighting the demon and his eyes grew wide.

"What the fu—" He scrambled out of the booth and ran to Clary's side. "Her head just came off!"

"Uh...Izzy?" Clary called out worriedly, eyeing the demons coming towards her and Simon. She didn't have a single weapon on her, but then Isabelle shouted her name.

"Clary! Catch," she threw a seraph blade to Clary and it ignited in her hand. "Take Simon, and get out of here!"

_I don't even know how to use this thing,_ Clary thought. "What about you?" she shouted to Isabelle.

"Just go!" Isabelle said, attacking another demon. Clary nodded and reached for Simon, running towards the exit.

"What the hell is going on?! Why is Izzy killing those girls?" he shouted but Clary ignored him. They were about to leave the room when a demon dropped down in front of the pair.

"_Shadowhunter running with a mundane?_" It said in a sing-song voice. "_I think he belongs to me, Nephilim._"

"Simon, get behind me," Clary said urgently. The demon snarled and lunged towards her. Clary screamed and stuck out her seraph blade blindly, closing her eyes. She heard a screeching noise and when she opened her eyes, the demon was gone.

"Clary! Oh my god, you just killed that girl!" Simon cried out from behind her. Clary grabbed his arm and continued to the exit. "Izzy just killed that girl over there, and...and she's still killing other girls...what the hell is going on?!"

"Those aren't girls."

"What?"

"They're not human."

"What do you mean they are not human?!"

"Look, I'll explain everything, but we have to get out of here first." Clary led Simon back into the larger room with all the people dancing. As she looked around, she could see more faces that didn't look human. She walked faster, and soon the two friends were out on the sidewalk in front of the club.

"Okay, explain, please," Simon said staring at Clary, a wild look on his face.

"Um," Clary stared at Simon, unsure if she should tell him the truth. Thankfully, Isabelle came out of the club and hurried towards the two. Clary handed her the seraph blade and Isabelle tucked it away in her boot.

"There are more coming," she said. "We have to leave, now."

"Wait, someone tell me what just happened in there first!" Simon argued.

"We'll do it once we're out of here," Isabelle said. Right on cue, a couple of the demons from the booth walked out of the club, looking for the teens.

Clary waved down a taxi, and they climbed in hurriedly. She gave the taxi driver Simon's address, and the taxi sped off.

"Well?" Simon looked at the two girls pointedly. "What the hell was that?! You guys just killed those people!" Clary shared a look at Isabelle, who answered with a somber expression.

"They weren't human, Simon. They were Eidolon demons. Shape shifters. They looked like girls to you, but to the two of us," she gestured to herself and Clary. "We could see that they were demons."

"What the are you talking about?" Simon gave her a look. "Demons aren't real."

"Yes they are," Clary piped in. "Demons, vampires, werewolves, faeries, warlocks...they're all real."

Simon turned to Clary and stared at her for several minutes. When Clary's serious expression didn't go away, Simon's eyes widened.

"What?" he stared at Clary in shock. "You're not kidding?"

"Nope."

"So...then why couldn't I see the demons?"

"It's because you don't have the Sight," Isabelle explained, pulling out her stele. She drew the clairvoyance rune on her arm. "Clary and I do."

"You just tattooed yourself," Simon said, staring at the rune in confusion.

"It's not a tattoo, it's a rune," Clary said. "They're symbols we draw on our skin using a stele," she pointed to Isabelle's, "to grant us different abilities. Like agility, flexibility, and stamina."

Simon looked up at the girls in wonder. "Can you draw one on me?"

"I can't," Isabelle answered. "You're human."

"And you're not?" Simon looked at her, then at Clary.

"No, we're not," Clary shook her head. "Isabelle and I...we're Shadowhunters."

"Shadowhunters?" Simon repeated. "Wait, that's what that girl called you, inside the club."

"Yeah," Clary nodded. "We're a species of humans with angel blood. We protect the Earth and the humans from demons and other Downworlders—I mean—vampires and werewolves and yeah."

"But I've known you all my life. You and you're family are the most mundane people I've met," Simon reasoned.

"I know...I only found out about...all this, like, a couple of months ago," Clary said. "My mom was a Shadowhunter too, but she kept it a secret because she didn't want me to be a part of the Shadow World."

"So then how'd you find out?" Simon asked. Then realization settled onto his face. "Wait," he turned to Isabelle. "You—you, and your brothers—came along. You guys told her."

"Sort of," Isabelle nodded.

"Does your mom know that you know?" Simon asked Clary.

"Yeah she does," Clary admitted.

"Is that why you've been spending so much time with Jace and Alec and Izzy? This is the big secret you guys are all keeping?"

Clary nodded.

"Wow...some secret." Simon looked at Isabelle. "And is this why I have no idea where you live?"

"We'll get to that," Isabelle replied dismissively.

"So then why are you guys still here? Clary knows about the Shadow World, right? What part do you and your siblings play?"

"Well..." Isabelle started, and looked at Clary questioningly.

"Simon," Clary said. "About a month ago, my mom was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? Oh my god, Clary. Did you call the police?"

"No, I couldn't exactly call the NYPD. Isabelle's family is helping look for her."

"Why, who kidnapped her?"

"My dad..." Clary answered.

"I thought he was dead."

"So did I. But he's very much alive. He was a Shadowhunter that went rogue, and he faked his death. But then he came back to Brooklyn one night to meet with me, and he ended up taking my mom." Clary's voice grew quiet.

"Holy crap," Simon took her hand in his. I'm really sorry/ I've been such a jerk, always asking what was going on with you and I didn't realize that—"

"It's okay," Clary shook her head, waving off his concern. "How do _you_ feel...about this whole Shadow World thing? It's a lot of information to take in, believe me."

"It's actually really awesome," Simon grinned. "It's like Dungeons and Dragons...but _real_."

"What?" Isabelle frowned.

"It's...nothing," Clary laughed at her confusion. She squeezed Simon's hand. "I promise that I won't keep any more secrets from you." The taxi pulled to a stop in front of Simon's house. He got out of the car, but stopped at the open window on Isabelle's side before leaving.

"I'm sorry that you guys found me in that booth." He shook his head. "I don't even know why I was there, it's like that whole memory is really foggy. I don't remember what happened. I know I walked into the club, and I was at the bar, waiting for you guys. But then the next thing I remember was sitting at that booth."

"Did you drink anything?" Isabelle asked.

"Yeah, the bartender said that their specialty drink for the night was free, so I had that. It was like this blue punch thing—"

"It was probably spiked," Isabelle said. "You can't really trust the waitstaff in that club."

"Oh," Simon scratched his head, embarrassed. "God, I should have realized that—"

"Don't worry about it." Isabelle leaned out of the window and kissed him. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Simon nodded. "Bye guys." He walked up the steps of his apartment and disappeared inside.

"Where to next, miss?" the taxi driver asked. Clary gave him Luke's address and they drove off.

Clary leaned back into her seat and exhaled heavily. "Wow. That escalated quickly, from wanting to go relax at a club, to fighting demons and..." She trailed off, closing her eyes.

"Yeah," Isabelle laughed. "Hunting demons is my life, so I'm pretty used to it. You, on the other hand..."

"I know," Clary sighed. "When you handed me that seraph blade...I was ashamed that I didn't even know how to use it." She looked at Isabelle. "Jace is right. I got lucky this time, but who knows? In the future, I could easily end up dead."

"Don't say that," Isabelle automatically put in. "You are a Shadowhunter. It's in your blood. You've only just gotten introduced to this world—of course it's going to take some time until you're comfortable with the weapons and combat." She paused, then added, "I love Jace, but he's got to realize that you're a Fairchild." She smiled, "Your mom is one of the toughest Fairchilds out there. And if that doesn't count for something, then I don't know what does."

"Thanks, Izzy," Clary smiled. She looked out the window as Luke's apartment came into view. "This is me." She turned to Izzy and gave her a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you," Isabelle waved as Clary climbed out of the car.

* * *

**Isabelle POV**

When Isabelle reached the Institute, she handed the taxi driver money and clambered out of the car. She trudged up to the front steps and opened the door, suppressing a yawn. Immediately as she entered the church, Alec came running up to her with a worried expression on his face.

"Where the hell were you? I've been calling you for hours, didn't you have your phone with you?"

Isabelle reached down into her boot and pulled out her cell phone. Indeed there were 6 voice mails, 7 missed calls, and 19 texts from Alec. "Oh, sorry. I didn't hear it ring."

"Where did you even go? Mom was freaking out that you left without telling any of us."

"I was at the club, with Clary and Simon," Isabelle answered vaguely, walking past her brother and climbing up the stairs to the second floor. Alec followed, still asking questions.

"What club?"

Isabelle bit her lip and tried to sound nonchalant. "Pandemonium."

"_Pandemonium?!_" Alec shouted in disbelief. "What were you doing there?"

"What's going on?" Jace poked his head out of his bedroom. He spotted Isabelle and he stepped out into the hall. "Izzy, you're back. Where were you?"

"She was at Pandemonium, with Simon," Alec rolled his eyes. "Did anything happen?"

"No, nothing," Izzy said, and started to back away. "Everything was fine."

"Izzy..." Jace frowned. "You know you're a terrible liar, right?"

Izzy sighed, and mumbled, "We may have run into some demons—"

"_What?!_" Both Jace and Alec shouted.

"—but it wasn't a big deal, we got out of there fast."

"Is Clary okay?" Jace asked. "Did she get hurt?"

"Yes, she's fine," Isabelle smiled at his protectiveness.

"More importantly, did Simon see the demons?" Alec asked. "How did you explain that to him?"

"We told him the truth," Isabelle replied.

"_Are you serious?_" Alec exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Izzy, you could get in serious trouble for that!"

"I'm willing to take the risk," Isabelle shot back. "He's my boyfriend, if you've forgotten."

"Oh, God," Alec covered his face. "You know what? Let's just forget about this whole thing. Look, the reason I was looking for you is because Mom has some news. From the Clave." He turned to Jace. "I didn't get a chance to tell you either, Jace."

"What? What happened?" Jace urged him on.

"Consul Penhallow made a statement in Idris today that she, her husband, and Aline are going to stay in the Paris Institute with Sebastian Verlac until Elodie Verlac is found," Alec answered solemnly. "They'll be moving there next week, and they'll stay there for as long as it takes to find Elodie."

"What does that mean?" Isabelle asked.

"It means that Clary's allowed to go to France and live with the Penhallows and Sebastian."

* * *

**A/N: Finally! God, that took FOREVER to write. Hopefully you guys all enjoyed it! We got a smidge of Sizzy, a lot of Clizzy, and the teeniest amount of Clace. Now that Clary's going to be going to France, the real fun will begin.**

**And we were introduced to Sebastian Verlac in this chapter (sort of). What are y'all's suspicious? Should Clary trust him?**

**Thank you so much for reading this chapter. Please leave a review of your thoughts, any predictions you have, and what you're looking forward to! I love reading what you have to say!**

**Also remember to leave your thoughts on the last few episodes of Season 1 of Shadowhunters. Did you agree with anything I said? Did you enjoy/hate the episodes? What are you excited to see in Season 2?**

**And lastly, remember to comment about Lady Midnight! It's a wonderful, wonderful, book, and I'd be more than happy to talk about it with you! Any predictions for Lord of Shadows? Anything in particular you enjoyed! Leave a review or PM me! I'll get back to you ASAP!**

**Some shoutouts for last chapter's lovely reviewers:**

**bookgirl18:** Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, thanks so much for reviewing :)

**Debra Williams:** A new reader! Welcome! I hope you're enjoying this story, thank you so much for reviewing!

**bookaddict223:** Thank you so much! Hope you liked today's chapter as well!

**Guest: **Omg you actually re-read my story, not many people do that, and it means a lot. Thanks for your reviews the past few chapters, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the TV show and this story. Hope you liked today's chapter, and the rest of the season too.

**Pretzelina:** Thanks so much! I loved reading your reviews, and I'm glad the paragraph before the reviews last chapter helped. Thanks again for reviewing, and I hoped you enjoyed today's chapter.

**Theyarenotonlybooks: **This review means so much, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too :)

**alexhl1023: **I have to agree with your point that some of the personalities are lost in the TV show. I guess the producers did that to make the show more "appealing" to a wider audience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the show, I hope you enjoy today's chapter :)

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed/followed/favorited this story! And be sure to REVIEW/FOLLOW/FAVORITE if you haven't already! Thanks for sticking with me for this chapter!**

**One last thing: I got a Tumblr! I know, it was long overdue, but I finally made an account. **You can follow me at **bookwormbullet**, just like my author name for FanFiction.** Tell me you're one of my readers from Safe and Sound, and I'll definitely say hi and follow you back! The link is in my profile, too :)**

**Thanks everyone! I'll see you next time with Chapter 13!**

**~bookwormbullet**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you guys are all doing well! I'm back again with another chapter :) Sorry it took so long to update, I had a lot of heavy writer's block and I had to go out of town twice in the past two months so there wasn't really much time for me to write in the first place. But I'm back home and I had a couple of days to put my thoughts together, so here's your new chapter XD **

**We left off last with the big news that Clary has the chance to stay in France with Sebastian and the Penhallows. Additionally, Simon has found out about the Shadow World, so you'll be able to see how he handles things with the gang here on out.**

**And ahhh I'm so excited for Season 2! The cast started filming this week, and I'm beyond ready to see the new season :) There were some behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram, one of Clary and one of Isabelle, and I noticed that they now have black runes! In season one, they used to be this red color, but the pictures are showing them as black, like the books originally describe them, so that's a good sign!**

**Anyways, let's get things started shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments, all rights go to Cassie.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Clary POV**

"Where the hell were you?"

_Crap,_ Clary thought, wacking herself mentally in the head. _Crap, crap, crap._ She had just been dropped off by the cab at Luke's apartment after spending the night at the club with Simon and Isabelle and the demons that had decided to have a little...fun...with Simon, and she had completely forgotten to text Luke where she was headed after going to the Institute.

She stared at him guiltily from the doorway, and slowly closed the door behind her.

"You told me that you were stopping by the Institute after school, but that was hours ago." Luke stared at Clary with disappointment. "I called Maryse and she said that Isabelle had also disappeared."

"I know, I..." Clary closed her eyes and smiled sheepishly. "I went out with Simon and Isabelle after stopping by the Institute, but we didn't even stay out for that long."

"Why? Where did you guys even go?"

"This club," Clary mumbled, walking into the living room, and sitting down on the couch. "I wanted to relax with Simon and Isabelle, but we ended up leaving because we ran into some...trouble."

"_Trouble?_ Which club were you at?"

"Pandemonium..."

"You're kidding me. You ran into demons, didn't you?"

Clary lowered her eyes. "It wasn't that big of a deal—Izzy and I fought them off and..." she trailed off.

"And what?" Luke prompted. "What about Simon? Did he see the whole thing?"

Clary didn't respond, and Luke groaned. "Clary, please listen to me. Do you know what kind of trouble you've put yourself into—"

"Simon is my best friend, Luke! I trust him with my whole heart—"

Luke knelt down in front of Clary, "I know you do, I don't doubt that. But it's the Clave you can't trust. If they find out that you told a mundane about the Shadow World—"

"They won't," Clary shook her head. "I promise." Luke shook his head and sighed before getting up to leave the room.

"Wait," Clary stopped him and stood up. "There's something I have to ask you."

"What is it?"

"It's about the student exchange trip to France," she started. "I wanted to ask for your permission to go."

"Go to France?" Luke repeated. "Absolutely not."

"What? Luke!" Clary gave him a pleading look, but he was already walking out of the room and down the hall. "Wait!" she called out after him. "My mom's in Paris!" She said desperately, trying to attract his attention back.

Sure enough, he stopped short and turned around. "How do you know?"

"I had a dream," she responded, and quickly told him what happened. Luke just listened quietly and his eyes lowered to the ground when she finished.

"I was right about the Seelie Court dream, and I know I'm right about this one," Clary finished. "You have to understand, Luke. I need to get to my mom."

"I can't let you go by yourself," Luke said softly. "You put yourself in danger just today, and now you want to go to France, where there's not going to be anyone there to protect you—"

He was interrupted by Clary's phone vibrating. She pulled it out of her bag and read the text that had just arrived from Isabelle. As she read the words, a grin spread across her face.

"You're not going to believe this," she said, staring at the screen with excitement. "Isabelle just texted me, and apparently the Penhallows have decided to stay in the Paris Institute with Sebastian Verlac until Elodie is found." She looked up at Luke with a big smile. "This changes everything! I can just stay with all of the Penhallows, and nothing bad will happen, right?"

Luke's uncertainty didn't go away.

"Oh come on! Don't you trust the Consul and her family?"

"Did you not just hear what I said about trusting the Clave?" Luke replied wearily.

"Luke...please. I'm begging you, I need to save my mom from Valentine," Clary reasoned. "I hope you know that I can just forge my mom's signature on the form since she's my parent guardian, but I don't want to because I want my permission to be granted by you. I don't want to leave with you mad at me."

After a long pause, Luke said, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Clary shook her head.

"...Fine, you can go," Luke caved. Clary's jaw dropped and she ran forward, giving him a hug.

"Thank you so—"

"Promise me," Luke interrupted her and pried Clary off of him, holding her arm's length away, "that you'll call me every single day and give me updates, okay? And I'll tell the Consul that you're not allowed to go anywhere without her permission and without anyone else with you."

"I promise," Clary nodded earnestly.

Luke gave a grim smile. "Please be careful," he said softly. "I've already lost your mom, Clary, and I don't think I could live with myself if I lost you, too."

Clary's felt her stomach drop and she nodded.

* * *

**Isabelle POV**

"It means that Clary's allowed to go to France and live with the Penhallows and Sebastian," Alec finished.

"_What?_" Jace's voice rose several octaves.

Isabelle hurriedly pulled out her phone and sent Clary a text of what she'd just learned. She turned back to her brothers and asked Alec, "Did Mom specifically say she could?"

"No," Alec admitted. "But I don't see why she wouldn't let Clary now."

"She has to," Jace sputtered. He pushed past Isabelle and Alec and headed for Maryse's office.

"Jace!" Isabelle shouted and ran after him, Alec on her tail. They entered the office just as Jace did, Maryse sitting at her desk on her computer.

She glanced up over the rims of her glasses, eyeing the flustered teens curiously. "What's the matter?"

"Are you planning on sending Clary to France?" Jace demanded.

"I'm not making her do anything, Jace," Maryse sighed and took off her glasses. "Yes, the Penhallows have agreed to stay in the Paris Institute, and that does sway things in her favor, but it's ultimately Clary's decision if she wants to go or not."

"You know she's going to go," Jace said. "Please, you have stop her."

"Stop her? You know, I have no jurisdiction to do that," Maryse stated the obvious. Jace groaned and Isabelle came forward sympathetically.

"Jace, you can't control Clary. I'm sure she'll be fine staying with the Penhallows," she reasoned with him.

"Alright then," Jace looked up. "She can go. But I'm going, too."

"Absolutely not," Maryse said immediately.

"What?! Why not?"

"There is no way I am sending you to France," Maryse closed her laptop. "It's too dangerous."

"But it's not too dangerous for Clary?" Jace pointed out. "You can't risk her life—"

"Clary is not my daughter," Maryse shook her head. "I have no reason to care for what happens to her—"

"You're right, Clary isn't your daughter," Jace shot back. "And I'm not your son either."

"Maybe not by blood," Maryse said. "But you have been a part of this family since you were ten years old."

Jace lowered his eyes, and Isabelle shifted uncomfortably. She knew that Jace had always had trouble finding a family all of his life ever since he found out that his parents were dead, but she had always thought that Jace had thought of the Lightwoods as his first family.

Maryse sighed and sat back down at her desk, opening her laptop. "Jace, I suggest that you talk to Clary about this. There's nothing I can do about the situation. Whatever you have against this trip," she gestured to Jace's frustrated state, "is clearly between you and Clary."

Jace just stared at Maryse before turning to leave the room. Maryse went back to her work, and after Isabelle and Alec shared a look, they followed Jace, several steps behind him, to give him some space.

* * *

**Clary POV**

The next morning, Clary gathered all the permission slips that she and Luke had spent the night going over together and shuffled them inside a manila folder. She gave Luke a wave before heading out the door, a bagel in hand.

By the time she reached school, the hallways were already filled with students. Clary made a beeline towards the office and ducked inside, heading to the receptionist's desk. She walked up to the secretary, who was jotting something down on a Post-It Note while balancing a phone between her ear and shoulder.

"Hi, I want to turn these in..." Clary began, but the secretary didn't answer and merely pointed towards the guidance counselor's office on her right.

"Oh..." Clary smiled and nodded, and as she turned to enter the counselor's office, when she heard a voice behind her.

"You're really going, aren't you?"

She whirled around and came face to face with Jace, who was standing in the doorway of the office, his hands stuffed into his jeans' pockets.

Clary's expression sobered and she nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"And there's nothing I can say to make you change your mind?"

"Jace," she began, walking towards him. "I really do appreciate the fact that you're looking out for me, but..." She paused and then sighed. "You have to let me do this," she continued. "I need to find my mother."

"I know," Jace nodded. "I know—I realize that now."

He said that, but Clary noticed that the anxious look on his face didn't seem to soften.

"I should go turn these in...we'll talk more during class, okay?" Clary assured him.

"Right," Jace took a step back. "I'll wait for you outside homeroom."

Clary nodded with a smile and watched as Jace exited the office and went down the hall, out of sight. Clary sighed and turned back to the guidance counselor's office, knocking on the door before entering.

"Hello!" The counselor looked up from her computer. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, I'd like to turn in these forms. They're for the student exchange trip to France." Clary handed her the folder.

"Oh, you're just in time," The counselor opened up the folder. "I was going to turn in all the forms to the administration in a couple of hours." She scanned the forms, "Clarissa Fray?"

"Yup," Clary nodded.

"Alright, I'll get these turned in, and we'll send you further forms with information about plane departures and luggage, and all that, okay? Sounds good?"

"Yeah, sounds great." Clary nodded again. "Thank you." She left the office and stepped out into the hallway, where she saw Simon coming towards her.

"Hey!" he grinned as he jogged up to her. "How's it going, Shadow...warrior?"

"Hunter, Shadowhunter," Clary corrected with a smile.

"Right," Simon said sheepishly. He looked over Clary's shoulder and realized that she had come out of the counselor's office. "Did you turn in your forms?"

"Yeah, I'll be leaving in a couple of weeks," Clary replied as they made their way to homeroom. "Were you able to sleep well yesterday after...what happened?"

"Uh, yeah actually, I was fine," Simon chuckled. "You know, I never got to say this yesterday, but..." He trailed off and Clary raised her eyebrows.

"I wasn't that surprised when you told me about, you know, the whole 'you being a Shadowhunter' thing," Simon continued.

"Really? Why not?" Clary frowned, intrigued.

"I always had this feeling that you were meant for something bigger than a normal, human life," Simon explained. "I didn't exactly think you'd be saving mankind and slaying supernatural creatures, but it definitely suits you."

Clary laughed and rested her head on Simon's shoulder as they reached the entrance of their classroom. Jace stood outside and his face lit up when he spotted Clary.

"Hey Simon, Isabelle's inside already," he said, nodding in the direction of the open door to the classroom.

Simon nodded and gave Clary a squeeze before entering the classroom. Clary gave a small smile to Jace and shifted uncomfortably.

"So, we're all good, right?"

"Yeah," Jace nodded.

"Jace," Clary began, knowing that Jace was the type of the person who frequently lied about the way he truly felt. "Are you sure? I know I said the other day that I would go on this trip regardless of how you felt, but I'll be honest with you, I'd feel terrible if I left while you still didn't like the idea."

"Of course I don't like the idea," Jace took Clary's hands. "But I'm going to have to deal with it."

His eyes lifted up to hers and Clary's breath caught in her throat when Jace leaned in and kissed her, his hands going up to caress her face. They stood there for what had seemed like a few seconds, but clearly had not been when someone cleared their throat.

"Ahem." Jace and Clary jumped apart and stared at their homeroom teacher in embarrassment.

"The bell has already rung, so unless you want to be marked late, I suggest you come sit inside, kids." The teacher crossed her arms and gave them an annoyed glare. Jace and Clary sheepishly nodded and hurriedly entered the classroom.

* * *

**Alec POV**

When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Alec made his way to the front parking lot, where his car was. As he stepped onto the black cement of the lot, his car parked several feet away from him, he stuck his hand into his backpack, fishing around for his car keys.

_Where are they? I could have sworn I put them in here_—

"Looking for these, Alexander?"

Alec glanced up and saw Magnus leaning against his car with a smirk on his face, keys dangling from one finger.

"Magnus?" Alec frowned, but smiled on the inside. "What are you doing here? And how did you get—" he looked into his backpack again, and then up at Magnus.

Magnus just smiled, wiggling his fingers as blue sparks flew out of them. He pushed himself off of Alec's car and threw the keys at Alec, who caught them midair.

"Just thought I'd surprise you—make your day more exciting," Magnus shrugged. "From that day where I subbed your homeroom class, I know that this school of yours is dreadfully boring."

"Well, you wouldn't be wrong," Alec nodded. "I was just going to wait for Jace and Izzy to show up and we were going to go back to the Institute. Do you wanna come with?"

"How about we leave without them?" Magnus smiled coyly. "Jace and Isabelle are smart kids, I'm sure they can find their way back home."

"I can't just leave them—"

"Oh come on," Magnus gave him a look. "Live a little, Alexander."

Alec chuckled and thought for a minute. "Okay...fine."

Magnus whooped and made his way to the passenger side of the car.

"But I have to go home, my mom's expecting me," Alec explained as he opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat.

Magnus looked at him with a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. "How about we take a little detour instead?"

* * *

**Clary POV**

Jace's hand was in Clary's when they were walking out of their last period, Isabelle walking alongside them. Simon was supposed to meet them by the office before Jace and Isabelle left with Alec to go home.

"Do you wanna stop by the Institute?" Jace looked down at Clary.

"Um...I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I was thinking that I would try to spend more time with Luke before I leave on the exchange trip."

"Of course," Jace nodded. "I understand—"

"Hey guys," Simon bounded over, throwing his arm around Isabelle's shoulders. "How was Gym?"

"Pretty neat, actually," Jace replied. "Clary drew a speed rune on the bottom of her foot and aced the two-mile."

"Really?!" Simon's eyes lit up, staring at Clary in wonder.

"Sadly no," Clary shook her head with a smile. "He's kidding. But I do wish it were true."

Simon narrowed his eyes at Jace for getting his hopes up and Jace just smirked back.

"But there still was some fascinating stuff going on in class," Clary cut in, turning to Isabelle. "Izzy forgot her running shoes at home, but she still completed the mile," Simon gave her a questioning look, "in her heels."

"What?" Simon eye's dropped down to the seven inch heeled boots Isabelle was wearing and stared at them in wonder. "How is that even possible—"

Isabelle just flipped her hair over her shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, I would have run it barefoot, but apparently the school has a 'closed-toed shoes only' policy."

"She still got an 'A'," Clary piped up.

"And this is why I love you," Simon pressed his mouth against Isabelle's cheek, and she laughed.

"Okay, that's enough," Jace nudged Simon aside. "I'd rather not see you making out with my sister in front of me."

"We should get going, anyways," Isabelle glanced at her watch. "Alec will freak if we keep him waiting for over ten minutes."

"Walk me out?" Jace asked Clary and she nodded, following him, Simon, and Isabelle out of the school building. They stepped out onto the parking lot, Clary scanning over the rows of cars, looking for Alec's dark grey sedan.

"Do you see him?" Isabelle put a hand over her eyes as the bright sun shone down on all the cars, casting blinding glares.

"No," Jace shook his head, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. "Let me call him." He stepped aside, while Clary and Isabelle continued searching the parking lot.

"I can call a taxi for you guys," Simon offered, and Isabelle sighed, defeated.

"Could you? Thanks," she turned to Jace, who was walking back towards the group shaking his head.

"He didn't answer."

"Try 'Find My iPhone'," Clary suggested.

"What?" Jace gave her a strange look.

"'Find My iPhone'?" Clary repeated. "He does have an iPhone, right?"

"Yeah..." Jace looked down at his own phone, unsure of what to do. Clary smirked and took the phone from Jace, glad that for once she knew how to do something he didn't. She downloaded the app form the App Store and clicked on it, asking Jace to enter his login information for his iTunes account.

"Login information?" he echoed, giving her a blank look. Clary raised her eyebrows, and he threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know! Maryse set all of our phones up for us!"

"Oh my god, here," Isabelle took the phone from Jace and entered their account's username and password. She squinted at the screen and after a few seconds, her eyes widened.

"Where is he?" Clary asked.

"Um," Isabelle gave a weary laugh. "I'm not going to say."

"What do you mean?" Jace tried to take the phone away from her, but Isabelle held it away.

"Nothing! Trust me, he's safe, but I don't think he'd want the rest of you to know where he was," Isabelle quickly logged out of the 'Find My iPhone' app before Jace could try to steal the phone from her again. She gave Jace an innocent smile and handed the phone back to him.

Jace gave her a dirty look and took the phone from her, pocketing it. Isabelle turned to Simon, "Should we call a taxi?"

"Yeah sure," Simon took her hand and walked to the edge of the school grounds, where the main street was. Jace and Clary followed behind them.

Clary looked at Jace with a smile, "You can trust Izzy, right?"

"Probably not," Jace sighed, "but I know Alec can take care of himself, so I'm not that worried."

"Ah I see," Clary nodded.

By this time, Simon had flagged down a cab, and Isabelle was already getting into the car. Jace turned to Clary and gave her a small peck before jogging up to the cab and climbing in alongside Isabelle. He closed the door and gave a short wave as the cab pulled away from the curb and into the passing traffic.

Simon shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged over to Clary, "Wanna start walking home?"

"Yeah," Clary smiled and looped her arm through Simon's as they walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

**Jace POV**

Jace leaned back in his seat inside the taxi as the car wove it's way through the streets. He closed his eyes, only to open them a minute later and turned to Isabelle.

"Now that Clary and Simon are gone, can you tell me where Alec is?"

"Nope," Isabelle shook her head.

"Are you serious?" Jace gave her a look of disbelief. "I'm his parabatai."

"I know," Isabelle grinned.

"You're impossible," Jace shook his head. "Fine. Two can play this game. I guess I just won't tell you what Simon said about you while you were using the bathroom during lunch."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes. "You're lying. He didn't say anything."

"And how would you know that, you were in the bathroom."

"Simon wouldn't say anything about me behind my back."

"You can ask Clary, she was there."

"I don't believe you."

"All I'll say is that it had to do with a certain...feature of your body."

Isabelle's cheeks turned red and she remained silent. But Jace could see her biting her lip, trying to fight her own curiosity. He smirked and turned to his right to look out the window.

"Okay, you win, tell me!" Isabelle said exasperatedly.

Jace laughed, and leaned in to whisper Simon's statement into Isabelle's ear in case the taxi driver heard something he shouldn't have.

"He said that?!" Isabelle looked flustered and she blushed furiously. "Not that it's a bad thing, though," she admitted as an after thought.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Okay, well now it's your turn to give your end of the bargain. Where's Alec?"

Isabelle chuckled. "He's at the Shaker &amp; Plume."

"Wait..." Jace frowned. "Isn't that a popular bar for warlocks to hang out in? And isn't it all the way Queens? Why would he be there—_Ohhhh_..." His widened in realization and Isabelle giggled out loud.

When the two reached the Institute, they walked inside to see a pile of suitcases sitting in the foyer, and when Jace's gaze followed the suitcase, he noticed four people standing together talking to Maryse, who was facing Jace and Isabelle. The group heard the Institute doors open, and they all turned, facing the two teens.

"Isabelle!"

"Aline?!" Isabelle broke out into a grin and hugged the girl. As Aline stepped away from Isabelle, she turned to Jace and gave him a bashful smile.

"Hi, Jace...it's really good to see you."

"Hey," Jace just nodded. "It's good to see you, too. How's...everything going?"

"Good, I guess," Aline said, turning back to the three other people. Jia Penhallow stood with her husband, Patrick, and they were accompanied by Amatis Herondale. Jace was surprised to see Amatis back at the Institute so soon. The adults just glanced over at Jace and Isabelle and continued on with their conversation with Maryse.

"What are you doing here in New York?" Isabelle asked Aline.

"Well, Mom just wanted to come by New York before going to the Paris Institute," Aline explained. "She also wanted me to meet Clary before she came to France as well...is she here?"

"Uh...she's at home," Jace said. "I can tell her to come by tomorrow."

"Oh..." Aline looked disappointed. "Okay...it's just that, Mom and Dad wanted to leave to France by tonight, so..." she looked over her shoulder again. "Hold on, let me tell Mom." She went over to her parents and told them about Clary's availability.

"Is that so?" Patrick looked up at Jace and Isabelle, and then back over at Maryse. "That's unfortunate—Jia and I were hoping to go over to the Paris Institute by tonight."

"I see," Maryse nodded. "Well, what if you traveled to France tonight and Aline stayed here at the Institute overnight to meet with Clary tomorrow afternoon? Afterwards, she could Portal to Paris."

Jia turned to Aline, and gave her a questioning look. "Is that okay with you?"

"Uh...yeah, sure," Aline nodded hesitantly.

"I can accompany her," Amatis offered. "Just to make sure nothing happens."

"Thank you Amatis," Patrick nodded. "That would be very helpful."

"That's settled then," Maryse smiled, and turned to Isabelle. "Isabelle, why don't you show Aline to a room she can stay in upstairs?"

"Yeah, of course," Isabelle nodded. "Do you wanna bring your stuff upstairs?"

"Yeah, they're just over here," Aline walked over to the pile of suitcases next to the door, and picked up two large suitcases.

"Here, let me get that for you," Jace offered, taking the luggage from Aline.

"Oh thanks," Aline blushed and hurriedly followed Isabelle upstairs. Jace frowned at Aline's awkwardness around him. Sure, he'd seen girls here and there get a little flustered when they saw him, but Aline was at a whole other level.

"Jace?" Someone called out from the foyer. He turned and saw Amatis giving him a hopeful look. "Can I talk to you when you're available?"

Jace didn't say anything for a few seconds and eventually he swallowed hard. "...Sure," he answered.

"Okay," Amatis smiled and Jace turned and quickly went after Aline and Isabelle. When he reached the bedroom that Aline was staying in, he found her and Isabelle deep in conversation. He just dropped the bags off and left before they realized he had come by.

Jace went down the hall and found Amatis standing in the doorway of the library. She had a small brown box in her hand, and was looking through it's contents when Jace came up to her. She gave him a wary smile and motioned to him to have a seat inside the library.

"This talk may be a little uncomfortable to you, but I don't know if you know who exactly I am besides being Lucian's sister," Amatis began as she took a seat in one of the armchairs across from where Jace sat. "However, judging from the look on your face, I think you do."

Jace slowly nodded. "You were married to my dad once," he managed to say.

"Yes," Amatis confirmed. "I was, a very long time ago." She looked back down at the box she was holding before looking up at Jace again.

"Your father was born in London, and we were both married in Alicante. Although it may upset you to hear this, I loved him more than life itself. Valentine offered Stephen a vacant position of second in command in the Circle, and against your grandmother's wishes, he joined, and I reluctantly followed. He was infatuated with the Circle's cause and often turned his back against his Law-abiding family, and myself.

"When Lucian was bitten, he came to me asking for help," Amatis grew quiet, "I hate to admit that I was disgusted with him. I remember telling him to never return until he was sure he hadn't become a werewolf. Of course, he did end up Turning, and I only saw him once again right before the Uprising up until now.

"Just like myself, Valentine was also disgusted with Lucian becoming a werewolf as he hated all Downworlders. Because I was Lucian's sister, Valentine saw me as an unfit wife for his lieutenant. He promptly set Stephen up with Céline," Amatis paused and studied Jace's reaction. "Your mother."

Jace blinked rapidly, trying to hold back his rage. His whole life, he grew up thinking that his parents had been married by choice, out love, and now for the first time he was hearing otherwise.

"Did they even love each other?" he said quietly, not making eye contact with Amatis.

"Jace—"

"Did they?"

"I will be honest with you," Amatis began, "and I'm not saying this out of spite, I promise...Not at first," she sighed. "Eventually, he did grow to care for Céline, in his own way...but—"

"But he never loved her like he loved you." Jace said bitterly. "That's what you were going to say, isn't it? I'm not stupid, you know."

Amatis just looked at Jace sadly. "There was a reason I said that this conversation would be uncomfortable."

Jace just shook his head rancorously and got up from his seat to leave the library.

"Jace, wait," Amatis called out. "I know you must hate me for telling you all this, but there's a reason I had to tell you." She extended the box she was holding out to Jace, her hand shaking.

"These are some things of his that I saved over the years. Photographs, a family tree, his witchlight stone...and a letter," she looked up at him with kind eyes, "that he wrote to you."

To me? Jace thought. He reached out hesitantly and took the box from Amatis.

"I'm sorry if you finding out who I am was the worst thing that has happened to you in months," Amatis said. "But Stephen entrusted me to give you these, and I firmly believe you deserve to know the truth about your family's past. I'm sure you already know how your parents died and who was behind it..."

"Sorry," Jace said darkly. "I don't want to say the V-word."

Amatis bit back a laugh, and for the first time during their conversation, Jace saw the light return to her eyes.

"You're just like him, you know?" She said, staring at him fondly. "Same blond hair, same personality." She smiled to herself. "Lucian used to say that Stephen was everyone's golden boy. He was good at everything and unfailingly ice without being boring...everyone loved him."

Jace glanced down at the box in his hands, and his eyes caught the sight of his father's loopy handwriting peeking out from a folded piece of paper. The letter, he remembered.

"I should get going," Amatis seemed to notice Jace's sudden anticipation of going through his father's belongings. "I leave you to it." She turned to leave the room, and just as she was about to exit through the doorway, Jace called out to her.

"Thank you."

Amatis turned and gave him a smile. "You're welcome, Jace."

Jace took the box and sank back into the cushions of his chair. He stared at the box for several minutes before reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts before selecting a name and clicking 'Call.'

After a few rings, the person on the other end picked up the phone.

"_Jace?_"

"Clary..."

"_Is everything okay?_"

"Yeah...I just..." Jace let out a shaky breath. "Amatis and I talked...about my dad."

Clary was quiet on the other end, and Jace continued.

"She gave me this...box...that had some of his belongings in it. In it, was a letter that he wrote to me—I have it in my hands right now, but...um..." Jace wasn't someone who usually shared his feelings with people, but since he ever since he met Clary, he found it easier to admit the truth to her. "I'm too nervous to read it."

"_Jace_," Clary said softly. "_There was a reason for Amatis wanted you to have this letter. How about you read it to yourself right now, and I'll stay on the line with you?_"

Jace didn't immediately answer, and Clary stammered, "_Or I mean...if you want to hang up...t-that's completely fine—_"

"No, no, I'll read it, hold on," Jace quickly said, and reached down to pull out the letter. He took a deep breath and started reading it, his eyes flying through the words, trying to absorb all of the letter at once.

After several minutes had passed, Jace put the letter down and clenched the phone in his hand tighter. "This is complete bull—anyone could have written this," he said angrily. "They're just vague sentences written one after the other..."

Clary sighed. "_Our dads are the worst, aren't they?_"

Jace cracked a grin, surprised at Clary's statement. "Yeah...I guess so."

"_Listen, as much as I'd love to continue this conversation and list the large number of reasons why my dad royally sucks, I really have to get started on my history paper,_" Jace could hear her shuffling things around on the other end. "_I'll see you tomorrow, okay?_"

"Clary?" Jace said before she could hang up.

"_Yeah?_"

"Thank you, for listening to me."

"_Of course,_" she said softly. "_I'm always here for you._"

Jace smiled, "I know."

"_Goodbye, Jace._" He could sense Clary's smile through the phone.

"Bye."

* * *

**Isabelle POV**

After Aline had gotten settled into her room and had said goodbye to her parents, Isabelle checked in with her Mom to see if Alec had returned home. She said no, so Isabelle went searching for Jace. She found him sitting in the library, dozing away, a small box in his lap.

"Jace," she said, shaking him. "Jace, wake up!"

He woke up with a start, nearly spilling the contents inside the box he was holding.

"Whoa, easy there," Isabelle caught the box before it slid off of his lap. "What is this?"

"Huh?" Jace mumbled, staring down at his lap. "Oh...um, it's a collection of stuff that belonged to my dad."

"Where did you get this from?" Isabelle picked up a witchlight that was sitting inside the box and held it up, examining it.

Jace paused before answering. "Amatis gave it to me."

"Amatis? Oh, of course, she was his previous—yeah..."

"Yeah," Jace repeated, looking around while yawning. "What time is it?"

"It's almost eight. Look Mom's a little busy, so she asked us to pick up dinner from Taki's with Aline. Alec still hasn't come home yet."

"Oh...yeah sure," Jace stood up, fixing his hair. "I need to drop this off at my room, and then I'll meet you downstairs."

"Okay," Isabelle nodded and headed to Aline's room to tell her where they were going. After a while, all three teens were walking through Manhattan, heading towards Taki's. When they arrived at the diner, they hurried inside, grateful to be out of the cold air.

"Oh wonderful...look who it is," Jace said darkly, rolling his eyes.

_Crap,_ Isabelle groaned to herself. _I completely forgot she works here._

"What's wrong?" Aline asked curiously, noticing Jace and Isabelle's glares.

Isabelle just stared at the girl standing at the other end of the diner behind the main counter. Kaelie stood in a white apron over her clothes, smiling at the three Shadowhunters from behind the cash register.

"Well, hello there," she grinned wider. "Welcome to Taki's."

* * *

**Kaelie POV**

Even though Kaelie had left St. Xavier's for good, not caring about attending the silly mundane school anymore after Jace and Clary confronted her, she still came to work every afternoon, just like usual. In the mornings, she would spend time in the Seelie Court, and then during lunch, she'd head over to Taki's to work her shift until the night.

That afternoon, Kaelie was in the Seelie Court just getting ready to leave for work when a water sprite came up to her, telling her that the Queen was requesting her presence. Kaelie nodded and headed to the throne room, where the Queen was sitting in an elaborate marble throne, wearing an icy white gown that cascaded onto the floor and spread around her.

"My Lady," Kaelie curtsied and the Queen quickly allowed her to rise.

"I have something important to discuss with you, Kaelie," she said airily. "Our plan to separate Clarissa Fairchild and Johnathan Herondale has failed. The two love-struck teens seem to be attached to each other like glue."

"What do you suggest we do know, my Lady?" Kaelie asked.

The Queen raised her hand and a wood sprite flew in, hovering by the Queen's side. It was holding a glass platter and on it was a small dark blue bottle. The Queen took the bottle from the platter and the sprite zoomed away. She extended the bottle out to Kaelie, who took it from the Queen's hand.

"What is it?" Kaelie lifted the bottle up to her eye level and examined the contents.

"A potion, of sorts," the Queen smirked. "Once consumed, it can...alter the subject's personality, opinions, and lifestyle to an extreme level."

Kaelie's smile slowly grew, as she could see where this was going. "What do you want me to do with it, my Lady?"

"Give it to Johnathan Herondale," the Queen ordered. "Make sure he swallows every last drop. I don't care how you give it to him, but make sure he consumes all of it, understand?"

"Yes, my Lady." Kaelie bowed her head respectfully, her mind buzzing, trying to find a way that she would get the potion to Jace.

"This potion will move the pieces of our game plan into place," the Queen continued. "Once Johnathan and Clarissa are separated for good, nothing will stop Valentine from getting his hands on her and raising hell on the Nephilim."

"I look forward to it," Kaelie flashed a wicked smile and curtsied before leaving the throne room. She collected her belongings and left the realm to head to work.

She reached Taki's about fifteen minutes later and started her shift as a waitress. Usually work was fairly boring, but Kaelie did it mostly because she had nothing better to do. Throughout the evening, multiple Downworlders of all sorts came and went, and Kaelie was just calculating her latest customer's total at the cash register when the familiar ringing of the door opening sounded through the restaurant.

She looked up and felt her spirits lift instantly. There, standing at the entrance were Jace, Isabelle, and another Asian Shadowhunter.

Just my luck, Kaelie grinned, her eyes landing on Jace. "Well, hello there," her smile grew. "Welcome to Taki's."

Isabelle scowled and walked forward, picking up a laminated menu off of the front counter. She narrowed her eyes at Kaelie before turning and walking back to Jace. They stood together, going through the menu and deciding what they wanted to eat.

Kaelie reached down into the pocket of her apron and pulled out the little blue bottle, turning it over in her hands. She heard footsteps and looked up to see Isabelle walking towards her.

"We'll take two grilled chicken sandwiches, a cheeseburger, a ceaser salad, and a BLT," she rattled off.

_Geez, how many people are they feeding?_

"Any drinks?" Kaelie asked hopefully.

Isabelle gave her an annoyed look and then added, "Two vanilla lattes and one hot chocolate."

"One hot chocolate?" Kaelie repeated, trying to figure out if that was Jace's drink.

"Jace, you're okay with a hot chocolate, right?" Isabelle turned to the boy.

"Yeah," he nodded.

_So far so good_, Kaelie thought to herself.

Isabelle turned back to Kaelie and pulled out her wallet, "We'll take everything to-go."

_Wait_, Kaelie realized. _What if something happens to Jace's drink on the way home and he never drinks the potion?_

"You should just drink your drinks here," she advised. "They could get cold by the time you go home."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes at her but eventually relaxed. "Fine," she said. "But the food is still to-go."

"Of course," Kaelie murmured. "Your food will be right out." She disappeared into the kitchen and gave the order to the chefs, coming back out to take Isabelle's money for the food.

Afterwards, the Nephilim were seated at a small table in the center of the diner. It wasn't long when one of the chefs—who happened to be a werewolf—called Kaelie to come to the kitchen and get the three drinks.

_Bingo_, Kaelie thought and took the three drinks. She stood on the counter, facing away from the three Shadowhunters, unscrewing the lid of the bottle and discreetly pouring the contents into Jace's hot chocolate, using a small teaspoon to mix the liquids together.

"Two vanilla lattes, and one hot chocolate," Kaelie smiled innocently as she served the teens their drinks. "Your food will be ready shortly."

Isabelle and Jace didn't say a word, but the Asian Shadowhunter, who looked awfully similar to the Consul, smiled back.

"Thank you!" she said, and Isabelle and Jace immediately glared at her. Kaelie smirked and walked away, taking her place behind the front counter.

She watched, amused as Jace reached forward, and brought his cup to his lips, taking his first sip. And then another, and another, and another one, until the cup was sitting back on the table, empty.

_Enjoyed your drink Jace?_ Kaelie thought. _Not as much as I'm going to enjoy your downward spiral these next few days._

"So long, Jace Herondale," she whispered.

* * *

**A/N: *Gasp* What's gonna happen to Jace?! You'll have to read the next chapter to find out :) Thanks everyone for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Fanfiction and Chocolate: **Awesome :) Hope you liked today's too!

**bookgirl18: **Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I hope you liked this chapter as well!

**cheshire15: **You'll have to wait to find out what happens :) Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked today's chapter!

**bookaddict223: **Thank you so much!

**TMI 1Fan: **Um...I think you got something mixed up? I updated the last chapter on April 17th, not a year ago...But I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!

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**Please review this chapter with your thoughts! Also, follow/favorite this fic if you haven't already :)**

**I'll see you in Chapter 14!**

**~bookwormbullet**


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